The Jackal
by Dallirious
Summary: There's nothing like an orphan, and The First Lady to stir up trouble at The White House. CJToby, AU. Ch 13 now up.
1. Tuesday October 10th, 2000

**Title:** The Jackal  
**Author:** Dallas  
**Disclaimer:** The West Wing, and its characters, don't belong to me. Which kind of sucks, but I'm dealing with it. Heck I even got the name from the song CJ mimes to.  
**Pairing:** CJ/Toby… some Jed/Abbey, Sam/Ainsley, and of course Josh/Donna  
**Summary:** Nothing like an orphan, and The First Lady to stir up trouble at The White House. AU

**A/N:** Set during Season 2, but as I said it's AU. There will be some moments when the story collides with a season and it will be noticable, but otherwise it's AU.

**

* * *

Tuesday, October 10th 2000**

**8:05am**

"CJ! CJ!" Came the familiar call as she walked out to the podium.

"Well, you sure know how to make a girl feel welcome." She smiled as her loyal press settled down with a few laughs. "As most of you know, the First Lady was admitted to hospital last night after she fell down the stairs. She'll be in hospital with fractured ribs and a broken leg for, the doctor says, about two weeks. But we all know America's First Lady doesn't take things lying down. She'll be up and about in no time."

"CJ! CJ!"

"David."

"CJ, will this mean she won't be attending the Children's Charity Ball next week?"

"Unfortunately yes it does." CJ replied. "But believe me, it does not mean The First Lady has given up on the children of America. Next question…"

**

* * *

9:45pm**

"As far as we know there have been six casualties…" CJ's statement was cut short as Abbey turned off the television. She looked around the room. It was now pitch-black thanks to the television being turned off. Reaching over to turn on her bed lamp, Abbey glanced at her watch on the bedside table. It was 9:45pm on her second night in hospital. She glanced back at the television, but decided she didn't want to hear any more about the plane crash in Chicago. Her eyes fell on the wheelchair sitting in the corner of the room.

"I need to get out of this room." She sighed as she slowly stood up on her good leg. Leaning against her bedside table she took one quick step making sure it was a big one. With one more step she slowly lowered herself into the wheelchair. "Now for the damaged damsel to kick some ass with security." She muttered with a smile. Releasing the break she gently rolled herself towards the bed, grabbing a blanket in case it was colder outside her room then inside.

"Ma'am is there anything I can do for you?" A young man, he could only be in his late twenties, stood in the doorway the minute she'd opened it.

"Are you the new one they are forcing to watch me?" Abbey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not forced, ma'am. This is my job."

"And your name is?"

"Special Agent Andrew Lockhart, Ma'am." The young man answered.

"Andrew, wouldn't you like if things got a bit more interesting instead of just standing here all the time?" There was a mischievous twinkle in Abbey's eyes. One that only three people could ever pick up on: Jed, Leo and CJ.

"I prefer to do what I'm told. As of tonight I was told to watch this door and make sure no one enters who is unauthorised."

"Aha, no one enters. I don't know about you, but I'm going for a wander around the hospital." Abbey declared. Pushing her wheelchair forward she tried not to smile as Andrew was forced to jump out of the way.

"Ma'am, I can't let you…"

"Don't worry about a thing. I found a loophole in your commands. Just do what you were told." Abbey shrugged, rolling herself out of the room. Agent Hayworth stood up as he saw her in the hallway.

"Let no one enter. Yes, Ma'am."

"Good boy." Abbey smiled. "And you can come with me." She pointed to Hayworth.

As painful as it was to see sick children, Abbey still found herself in the Children's ward. Making Hayworth trail a fair way behind her, Abbey glanced into each room as she passed it. At least four occupied beds in each room, in some there were only two. Gliding down the hallway she came to a room with a light still on. She waited for her bodyguard to catch up with her.

"Wait out here."

"Ma'am, I can't leave you alone."

"I'm in a children's ward Hayworth. What harm could come to me?" she raised an eyebrow. "Stay here." Quietly Abbey rolled herself into the silent room. Her eyes fell on the only occupant. A teenage girl was sitting up in her bed watching the news, cuts of CJ's press briefing were still being aired. The girl's attention moved to Abbey as she came into view.

"Hi."

"Hello." Abbey smiled softly. "I saw your light on."

"The nurses let me stay up later then the other children, because I'm the only one in here." The girl explained.

"And you look older then the other children too." Abbey noted.

"I'm fourteen."

"Almost an adult."

"Yeah. My name's Alex."

"It's nice to meet you. My name's Abbey."

"I know Mrs Bartlet." Alex flashed a shy smile. "It's an honour to meet the First Lady."

"Well, thankyou." Abbey smiled. She couldn't help but feel like she knew Alex. Her eyes seemed strangely familiar. "Not many young teenagers could identify me, particularly looking such a mess. I thought all kids were too busy with sport and parties to care about little old me."

"Yeah, well…" Alex shrugged and motioned towards the television where the news was finishing up. "I watch the news, read the paper. I also pay attention in Legal classes at school."

"You're interested in politics?" Abbey inquired, a little shocked at the idea.

"Well, sort of. I'm mostly interested in journalism."

"Ah, of course." Abbey smiled, moving her wheelchair closer to Alex's bed. "Would you like to work at the White House one day?"

"With the press? Yeah…" Alex covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned.

"I think you better get some sleep."

"I guess so." Alex shrugged, turning off the television.

"You know, it sucks not having anyone to talk to. I'll come and see you tomorrow."

"Really?" The young girl's face lit up with excitement.

"Yeah, why not." Abbey agreed. "Goodnight Alex."

"Goodnight Mrs Bartlet."

"You can call me Abbey."

"Goodnight Abbey." Alex yawned as her eyes closed.

* * *

**A/N:** So what do you think, any problems?  
This is the first time I've posted it, although I've been working on it for a few years. So I'm testing the first chapter before I put more up.  
I hope youenjoyed it. 


	2. Friday October 13th

**Friday, October 13th**

**7:10am**

"Good morning, CJ." Carol smiled as she followed CJ into her office and sat down.

"Good morning." CJ chirped, before she noticed Carol was sitting in her chair. "Have you lost your desk again?"

"No, it's out there." Carol waved a hand in the general direction of her desk.

"Then why are you sitting at my desk?"

"Because you weren't, and your chair is comfy." Carol answered with a smile. Before CJ could reply, she continued. "You've had two calls already this morning from your stalker."

"Ben?"

"Yep." Carol answered. "Donna wants to know if Josh left his tie at your place last night."

"Yes he did, I have it right here." CJ replied extracting Josh's tie from her coat pocket.

"Ooh fun nite?"

"Donna and Toby were there too."

"CJ, I didn't know you were into that." Carol grinned, she loved teasing her boss. There was just so much fun involved.

"Very funny." CJ muttered. "If you're done, get out of my chair."

"Oh." Carol stood up and walked towards the door. "And the First Lady has been strolling around the hospital at night. The press want to know what's happening."

"Don't they always?" CJ muttered to herself as Carol left the room. The minute she sat down, her phone rang. "CJ."

"Hey Ceej."

"Yes, I have your tie." CJ automatically said as she identified Josh Lyman's voice.

"Thanks, but that's not why I'm calling."

"What have you done?"

"Nothing!" Josh protested. "Can you stop with the snide comments for a moment and let me finish speaking?"

"Sorry, go ahead." CJ apologised, becoming more professional.

"This thing with the First Lady…"

"Could you please elaborate? I just got here. I don't get what the 'thing' is."

"I thought you did web searches before you came to work in the morning."

"Well I didn't this morning." CJ groaned.

"Well the First Lady has been making trips around the hospital at night. She's made a friend with a fourteen-year-old girl…"

"So what? Our First Lady is a paedophile?"

"No, the press is just interested." Josh muttered. "Geez, CJ. What's wrong with you today, PMS?" Without answering him CJ hung up the phone abruptly. Holding her head in her hands, she sighed.

"How you doing over there, Gail?" She turned to her fish who was busy swimming around and around in her bowl. "Yeah, same here."

"CJ! CJ!"

"Woah, settle down!" CJ slipped a glance at her watch. "One more question and then we're through."

"CJ!"

"Sarah."

"What's the stand on the First Lady moving around the hospital at night? Isn't that a little dangerous?"

"Sarah, are you trying to get our nations leading family attacked?" There were a few whispers and chuckles. "Anyone who's ever been in hospital knows how boring it is to sit in a room for hours with nothing to do. If Dr Bartlet, I emphasise 'Dr', wishes to venture around the hospital at night, she's entitled to. She does ensure she has security with her at all times."

"But what about…"

"I'm sorry time's up. I've got to be somewhere and you've all got to go write about how stunning I look today." CJ smiled and walked off the podium.

"Very well done." Carol congratulated CJ as she handed her a coffee.

"I want all the doors locked. Call the Military and get them to bomb the room." CJ whispered to her as the walked quickly to her office.

"Then you'll be dodging questions from press all over the world, about why the US Military bombed their own government." Carol smiled. "Where are you supposed to be anyway?"

"What are you on now?"

"You told the press you had to be somewhere."

"I lied."

"You lied to the press?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to get out of there, and apparently it's my job to lie to the Press." CJ stopped in her doorway so that Carol wouldn't follow her in. "How about next time, you get up in front of them and do my job?"

"It can't be that hard. It's just that time of the month." Carol shrugged, sitting down at her desk.

"It's not!" CJ whined, retreating into her office and slamming the door behind her.

"Yeah, it is." Carol muttered and sat down at her desk.

**

* * *

Monday, October 23rd**

**10:35pm**

"Abbey!" Alex's face lit up as she saw her new friend.

"Hi." Abbey smiled, walking slowly and holding onto a cane for support. "The trip seems so much longer without a wheelchair."

"You have to use the cane now?"

"For the next few days." Abbey admitted, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "They're getting rid of me tomorrow. I have to spend the next week cooped up in the Residency at the White House."

"That must suck."

"Big time. But if I didn't put up a fight I'd still be in here for another week." Abbey smiled as Alex laughed. Then there fell a strange silence. Abbey could tell there was something bothering her young friend. To be honest the look in Alex's eyes reminded her of CJ, when the Press were asking questions she didn't want them to. "What's the matter, Alex?" she asked cautiously, not wanting to intrude on the girls thoughts.

"I'm leaving too."

"Well, that's a good thing. You don't want to be in here all your life." Abbey quipped, but silenced herself quickly.

"You haven't read my chart have you?"

"No. I thought about it once or twice." Abbey admitted. "But I decided you'd tell me in time why you were here."

"I'm an orphan." Alex began. "This is my last stop before they send me back to the orphanage for the last time."

"But what about the family you were with?"

"I'm too much of a hassle." Alex explained slowly. "I talk back to my elders… I speak my mind without thinking it through… I'm a pretty feisty kid…"

"Sounds like someone I know." Abbey smiled to herself, thinking of the one and only spirited Press Secretary. "And so they didn't want you, because of that?"

"I'm too much of a handful. Besides…" She was becoming nervous as she spoke and began to rub her wrists through the winter skivvy she was wearing.

"Let me see…" Abbey carefully reached forward. At first Alex pulled away, not wanting to bring another adult into her web of hysteria. But Abbey had taken a different tone to what Alex was used to. It wasn't a doctor wanting to see a patient, it was a mother caring for her child. Carefully Alex slid the sleeve up her arm, revealing several scars up her wrist.

"And to think, I'm actually in here for pneumonia." Abbey's head shot up to look at her. "I'm joking. I had my appendix removed." Alex smiled.

"Not very deep, and not the right direction." Abbey said softly, running her thumb over the scars.

"It wasn't suicide." Alex quickly told her. "Suicide never even crossed my mind."

"Oh?"

"Of course not. My mission in life is to have a family… I guess it's the same for all orphans. I wouldn't want to kill myself."

"Then why cut yourself?" Abbey asked curiously, but trying not to poke too much.

"In all honesty, I don't know, maybe it was just to get away from the family I was with." Alex shrugged. "But now that the people at the orphanage know… I just don't want to go back."


	3. Tuesday October 24th

**A/N:** I changed my decision on which series it was set in part way through writing, so I think Amy may be in a little early. Sorry if that annoys anyone. But it is AU so... besides she's fun to tease Josh with. XX  
**

* * *

**

**Tuesday, October 24th**

**12:27am**

"Hello?" Came a croaky voice, filled with sleep.

"Hello Amy." Responded Abbey's voice.

"Mrs Bartlet?"

"Did I wake you up?" Abbey asked innocently, while glancing at her watch and realising it was midnight.

"Ah no, ma'am." Amy answered slowly, trying her best to sound like she was awake.

"Right. Amy, I need you to help me with something."

"Of course." Amy grabbed her notepad on her bedside table and the pen off the floor. "Let's hear it."

* * *

"She's bringing the kid home?" Josh asked as he, Sam, CJ and Toby followed Leo to the Oval Office.

"So it seems." Leo muttered.

"Can she do that?" Josh asked CJ.

"I guess so. I mean, she is The First Lady and a doctor…" CJ answered, although unsure of the answer. "What do I tell the Press?"

"If they ask." Toby interjected as they walked.

"Of course they are going to ask." CJ responded. "The First Lady goes to the hospital and comes back with an orphan? That's bringing up questions in Josh's mind. The Press will have a field day."

"Hey!" Josh exclaimed, realising he'd just been insulted.

"She's allowed to insult you, following the rubber dart incident." Sam informed the Deputy Chief of Staff.

"Ooh, you still have major payback coming for that." CJ grinned wickedly.

"What's the rubber dart incident?" Leo asked cautiously.

"Josh was mucking around with one of those toy dart guns…" Toby began.

"The ones with the suction caps." CJ muttered, glaring at Josh.

"And he hit CJ with one." Sam added.

"Which wasn't really that bad, but I had a horrible red mark on my arm." CJ explained as Sam continued.

"A second one hit Gail's bowl and almost knocked it to the floor."

"You almost killed Gail?" Leo stopped the procession and raised an eyebrow at Josh.

"It was an accident." Josh shrugged innocently. "She didn't die."

"I should have you arrested on grounds of attempted murder." CJ grumbled as they began walking again.

"It's a fish Ceej!"

"Gail is a trusted friend. She listens to me." CJ frowned at him.

"Only because she can't get away…" Toby sarcastically replied, immediately followed by the sound of CJ slapping him in the back of the head. They stopped outside the Oval Office.

"Is he in?" Leo asked Mrs Landingham as they stood around her desk.

"You know standing like that you make for a very intimidating bunch." Mrs Landingham frowned looking up at the four people towering over her. Her eyes lingered on CJ. "Particularly you CJ."

"I'm sorry my height's an issue, Mrs Landingham." CJ answered, sounding like a child.

"Well, he's in his office. Go right on in."

"You don't want to tell him we're coming in?" Josh raised an eyebrow.

"Oh no." Mrs Landingham answered. "Notice the door is closed? He's not speaking to me, because I won't let him have scotch before lunch."

"Wise decision…" Josh muttered as he followed his colleagues into the Oval Office.

"Mr President." Leo greeted as he entered the room. Jed was immediately out of his seat.

"I was just about to call you in for morning tea."

"An excuse to drink scotch before lunch, sir?" CJ quipped.

"Now Claudia Jean, where would you get an idea like that?" Jed smiled, directing her to sit down. "What can I do for you all?"

"We're here to talk about Abbey's 'welcome home' gift." Toby muttered as he sat down.

"Alex?"

"That's her name?" CJ asked and at Jed's nod she continued. "That's a really beautiful name, sir."

"It is." Jed agreed. "She's fourteen years old and she's going to be staying in the Residency."

"Sir, have you and The First Lady talked this through? Amy says it only came up last night." Josh spoke up.

"It did only come up last night. Abbey called me at some ungodly hour." Jed explained. "We need to contact the orphanage and sign documents and all those other silly legal matters."

"You're actually going to adopt her?" Leo asked.

"Why not?" Jed shrugged, not seeing any problem with the matter. "She's a good kid, according to Abbey. We do all trust my wife's judgement don't we?" He raised an eyebrow, surveying the group.

"Of course." They all answered at once, although some sounding a little uncertain.

**

* * *

Wednesday, October 25th**

**9:45am**

As the private car turned in the gate to The White House Alex slid down in her seat. Reporters were standing at the gate taking photos of every movement the car made.

"They can't see you." Abbey smiled as Alex sat up a bit straighter.

"Why are they here?"

"They're here for you."

"Really?" Alex looked shocked. "They just want to see me?"

"You're all over the news this morning." Abbey told the girl, handing her a newspaper. Cautiously Alex read over the headline.

"So I'm a 'mystery girl' being 'taken in' by The First Lady?"

"It seems so." Abbey sighed. "You're okay with that aren't you?"

"Oh sure, I've always wanted to change my name to something more mystifying." Alex quipped, a smile gracing her lips.

"Your sense of humour is going to fit right in here." Abbey rolled her eyes. She put an arm around Alex and gave her a hug. "You'll be fine." She whispered.

* * *

**_Earlier in the morning..._**

_"We're not supposed to be making a big thing about this." CJ and Toby both argued as they followed Josh to the Residency._

_"If you were a fourteen year old kid coming home from hospital, wouldn't you want a big party?" Josh shrugged. His two colleagues grabbing his arms halted him._

_"Josh, your idea of a party would not be welcomed by The President." Toby assured him._

_"Or Abbey for that matter." CJ added._

_"Exactly." Came Amy's voice as she joined them. "Your idea of a party is that of a teenage boy."_

_"Never heard you complain." Josh joked. Playfully Amy kicked his leg._

_"No parties Josh. Promise me." CJ frowned._

_"None whatsoever?" He asked cautiously, hoping he could possibly slot one it at some point._

_"None whatsoever." CJ, Toby and Amy replied in unison._

_"Fine." Josh muttered in a angry child-like way, and disappeared to find Sam and Donna. They'd know what to do._

* * *

People were standing at the entrance to The White House and they were making Alex feel a little scared. She could easily identify the main person awaiting her arrival. "What do I do Abbey?" She asked quickly as their car began to slow.

"Be yourself. The polite and courteous girl I know and love." Abbey smiled and gave the girl a quick hug. "Your extensive knowledge of The White House and the Bartlet Administration should help in this situation. If you meet someone you don't recognise and they're asking you questions…"

"Don't talk to them." Alex smiled as the car pulled to a stop and the passenger doors were opened for them to exit the vehicle. Standing, Alex waited for Abbey to join her.

"Let's do this." Abbey whispered as they walked up the stairs, and Alex found herself face to face with the President of the United States.

"You must be Alexandra." Jed smiled as the girl stood before him.

"Alexandra Whittle, Mr President, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, Miss Whittle. You can call me Jed." The two shook hands. "Why don't we take this inside and leave the media at the gate?"

"I think that's a brilliant idea sir… I mean, Jed." Alex laughed. "It looks like it's going to rain." She mentioned as they began to walk inside, Abbey beside them.

"Jed, honey, I thought everyone would be here to greet Alex." Abbey spoke up as they made their way to the residency.

"Ah yes, well our extended family are waiting for us…"

"They're not!" Abbey exclaimed. Following the couple at a slower pace, Alex tried not to listen into their conversation.

"Josh broke through. The others tried to stop him, and I actually agree with him on this one."

"Jed, you can't honestly…"

"I know…" Jed stopped abruptly and turned to face Alex. "Tell me Alexandra, do you like the idea of a surprise party to celebrate your arrival here?"

"Yes Sir." Alex frowned a little. "But if it is a surprise shouldn't it be kept a secret from me?"

"Forget we had this conversation."

"Conversation completely erased from my memory." She winked and they continued.

"Good girl." Jed chuckled. "You know Abbey I think we should get rid of the other three and just raise this one as our own."

"I'm sure they'd appreciate that Jed." Abbey replied with a smirk.

"Let's hurry." Alex grinned, urging her new foster parents to get a move on. "I have a party to get to that I shouldn't know about!" She continued down the hallway, not really caring if they followed but knowing they would.

"Does she remind you of anyone?" Jed asked, frowning a little. There was something very familiar about Alex, but he couldn't quite work it out.

"Only every child I've every met honey." Rolling her eyes, Abbey followed after the girl with Jed by her side. "But you're right there is something familiar about her. That's why we're going to find out her background."

"And what if it doesn't want to be found?"

"Then she'll always have us. I promised her that."

* * *

"Miss Alexandra Jane Bartlet." Jed began as they reached the residency, receiving a huge smile from the girl in question. "You're about to meet the strangest bunch of people that could ever be assembled in one room. This is our extended family." He opened the doors and all hell broke loose. There was cheering and there were balloons.

"I tried to stop them Abbey." CJ grabbed her attention from where she was standing close by, while Jed was introducing everyone to Alex.

"Oh it's fine CJ." Abbey waved off her apology. "Besides, Alex is enjoying it."

"And how are you ma'am?"

"Enjoying the fact that you've been ensuring I don't get trampled by the media." Abbey chuckled, squeezing CJ's hand.

"Anything I can do to make you feel loved."

"Of course…" Abbey paused for a minute, watching Alex trying to find someone in the crowd. "Now, I have someone that really wants to meet you."

"I'd love to, but I was supposed to help Toby…"

"CJ Cregg, you're going to meet Alex." Abbey told her firmly. "Why isn't Toby here?"

"He's writing a speech and won't stop until he gets it right." CJ rolled her eyes.

"That's our Toby." Abbey smiled as she escorted CJ over to their new arrival. "Alex, I have someone here you'd like to meet."

"No way." Alex spun on her heel to find herself face to face with CJ. "Miss Cregg, it's an honour to meet you."

"Please call me CJ." She laughed and shook hands with Alex. "I don't usually get such a good welcome unless I'm talking to a member of the press."

"CJ, I've followed your career for so long." Alex wished she could just button up her mouth and stop making a fool of herself, but she just couldn't. "You're an inspiration to the women of this country. I've wanted to be like you since I was ten."

"Well then, Alex, it's a pleasure to meet you." CJ laughed. "You're going to be so good for my ego, which I'm sure I don't have… but people say I do."

"Anything to help out" Alex grinned.

"I told Alex you might let her spend a few days with you at work." Abbey informed CJ, hoping her idea would go down well. "She's very interested in the media and their relationship with The White House."

"No problem." CJ shrugged. "Just show up when you want kiddo."

"Okay. Thanks CJ."

"Don't mention it." CJ grinned. "Now, as I said, I have to go annoy Toby…"

"I have a feeling everyone will be getting back to work soon Claudia Jean." Jed joined the group of women with a chuckle.

"Of course, Sir, The White House won't run itself." CJ replied as she left the room.


	4. Friday October 27th

**Friday, October 27th**

**10:15am**

"Carol you're in my chair again." CJ grumbled as she walked into her office. "And you're looking through my personal things." She tried to take the photos away from Carol but was unsuccessful.

"You shouldn't leave your draw open."

"You shouldn't be snooping around." Replied CJ as she, again, tried to get the photos back in her possession.

"I'm trying to understand why you've been in this perpetual state of PMS lately." Carol grinned, she rolled backward in the chair as CJ advanced. "Who's the baby?"

"My cousin."

"All your cousins are older than you."

"No they're not. Besides maybe it's an old photo."

"Not by the look of it." Carol kept pushing the chair backwards as CJ snatched for the photos. "Why won't you tell me about the baby?"

"What baby?" Toby was standing in the doorway, looking a little confused. The two women fell silent for a moment. "Did I walk in at a bad time? I can do it again."

"Your cousin." CJ suddenly said.

"Is that anything like 'yo mamma'?" Toby inquired.

"Ha, you just said 'yo mamma'." CJ laughed, forgetting her little fiasco with Carol for a moment.

"I thought you said this was your cousin." Carol frowned.

"What are we talking about?" Toby sat down on the couch.

"The photo I have of your cousin." She snatched the photo from Carol and flashed it at Toby.

"Oh Allie, I understand now."

"Allie? But CJ said…"

"Carol, Toby and I have been friends for years. His family is my family and visa versa." CJ sighed, before turning on her assistant. "Now get out of my damn office!"

"Fine!" With that said Carol promptly removed herself from CJ's chair and headed for the door. Quickly she spoke to Toby. "Careful she's got on-going PMS."

"CAROL!" CJ yelled as the door closed. "I'm sorry, can I help you Toby?" She sorted her photos and shoved them in her drawer.

"It's about Alexandra."

"Aha."

"I assume you…?"

"Noticed?"

"Yes."

"Yep."

"Of course…" Toby nodded, standing up again and walking across the room to inspect Gail's fishbowl. "I just met her in the Oval Office. I thought, maybe, you'd want to talk."

"Two days avoiding meeting a child, I think that's a record for you." She smiled as she pulled her chair back into place. "We should talk to Abbey." CJ collapsed in her chair and rubbed her eyes.

"That's not what I meant."

"Do you think this is fate?" Her voice had a slight amount of sarcasm to it.

"The First Lady falls down a flight of stairs whilst sneaking to the kitchen, much like you did the first night we slept together. After a few weeks in the hospital she brings home a fourteen-year-old girl named Alexandra Jane, the name we gave our daughter…"

"You see, the stars are aligned… or planets, or something in space is sitting next to something similar." She frowned, not exactly sure where she went wrong with that one.

"Except Allie died CJ." His tone was harsh and she flinched as the words hit her.

"Toby did you see a body?" CJ remained calming, knowing it was the only way she would be able to hold herself together.

"It would have been so much more traumatising…"

"Other parents see the body Toby, other parents…" She stopped herself before she became too worked up. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. "I know those eyes Toby, they were exactly like my mother's back then and they still are."

"Don't start this, Claudia Jean. She's not our daughter!"

"You even noticed it yourself, enough to come to my office and worry whether I'm making a fuss over it." Their argument came to an abrupt halt. "I'm going to talk to Abbey about her history."

"And I'm going to talk to Abbey about your mental health." Toby sighed. "I didn't come in to make a thing about it. I'm the one thinking logically about this."

"Toby, get out of my office!" CJ picked up her phone and dialled a familiar number. "Hey it's CJ, I need to speak with The First Lady some time today."

"CJ, it's just one of those things." Toby continued.

"Aha, excuse me a moment." She held the handset to the chest for a moment. "Get out of my office now!"

"Don't get your hopes up." Toby left the office and CJ returned to her phone call.

"Well, yes I know I could just phone Abbey. But this is an important thing and will take some time, so I thought it would be better if I scheduled it."

**

* * *

8:50pm**

"Abbey, are you waiting for someone?" Alex frowned as she noticed The First Lady glance at her watch again.

"Well I was, but now I'm wondering where they are." Abbey told her as she made her move around the game board. "Have you ever been to England?" She landed on her own property and sat back in her chair.

"Yes." Alex answered simply as she rolled the dice and suddenly found herself going directly to jail. "I lived with my Aunt in London until I was three. Although, she was American and I don't really feel British. It's all very confusing."

"We could always have intelligence check that out for you." Jed told her from his place in his armchair. He glanced over his glasses at the game before him. "I didn't know we still had Monopoly."

"Alex found it." Abbey informed him as she picked up her community chest card. "I won second place in a beauty contest. I get fifty dollars."

"Second place, this game obviously has no idea who it's dealing with."

"It must be why it was buried so far back in the cupboard." Alex quipped.

"That sense of humour is brilliant!" Jed exclaimed. "You could definitely take over for CJ."

"I could never take over from Claudia Jean Cregg." Alex frowned as she made her move. "She has this way of dealing with the media that ensures she doesn't have to deal with them in certain cases. It's just so fascinating to watch her in action…" There was a noise from the doorway.

"And here I was thinking people hated me behind my back." CJ grinned from where she leaned against the doorframe. "I'm sorry I'm late Abbey."

"Not a problem. Jed was going to escort Alex to the library for a while before she went to bed." Abbey nodded in Jed's direction and he stood slowly.

"Alexandra Jane, that's our cue to leave."

"But CJ just got here, can't I stay up for a while and chat?" Alex pleaded with Abbey as she stood up. Watching her eyes, CJ could almost feel her heart being wrenched from her chest as the girl begged for more time. If she really was Allie, then it should have been the other way around. CJ would be the one insisting she couldn't stay and chat to Abbey. So many things would be different. "Can I just say that I start school next Monday?" Alex grinned.

"You got accepted? Congratulations."

"I think Jed's worrying about putting another girl through High School." Alex admitted.

"Not at all, particularly since you enjoy my stories more than most." Jed replied.

"Can I stay here and celebrate for a while?" Alex asked hopefully.

"CJ and I have things to discuss Alex, this is a formal thing." Abbey told her.

"Okay." Alex got up and pressed a kiss against Abbey's cheek. "Night Abbey."

"Goodnight sweetheart."

"Night CJ."

"Night Allie." CJ replied, wanting to tuck her in. Even though she was fourteen and it probably would be unacceptable.

"Allie? My Aunt used to call me that." Alex frowned, before joining Jed at the door. "Goodnight."

"So Alex, what do you think about National Parks?" Jed could be heard asking as they left the room.

"Well I have a feeling they'll be up for hours." Abbey laughed.

"He was up until two in the morning talking to Josh about National Parks one time." CJ recalled as she took a seat opposite The First Lady. Her mind focused on the comment Alex had made about the name CJ had called her. "Poor Josh, just wanted to go home and sleep."

"I could imagine." Abbey smiled, packing up the game. "What can I do for you CJ? Amy said it was rather urgent but you wouldn't specify the reason." She leant back in her chair.

"It's fairly complicated." CJ explained, a little uncomfortable with what she was about to tell America's First Lady.

"I'm willing to concentrate." Abbey smirked. "You know you can tell me anything CJ. Jed and I have always thought of you as a daughter more than anything else." There was silence between them and CJ realised there was nothing left to do but explain the situation.

"A few years before I joined this administration, I was engaged to Toby."

"Well CJ, I knew that." Abbey was a little confused. Not only did she know, but CJ knew that she did. "You'd known each other for years, you got engaged, and then there was a mutual agreement to part ways. Has something happened between you and Toby?"

"While we were engaged I got pregnant…"

"Please don't tell me this has to do with the abortion protesters yesterday…"

"No!" CJ said quickly. "We had a baby girl. She had gorgeous dark hair and dark eyes, which I understand is the same for most newborns but she was very cute, and three days later we didn't have her any longer."

"Oh CJ, I'm so sorry."

"Abbey, she didn't die." CJ insisted, resulting in a very confused First Lady. "She was pronounced dead, but I know in my heart she isn't. Toby won't believe me, but you have to Abbey. I know you understand what I'm talking about. I just know she's alive."

"What made you think this way?"

"The midwife told us our baby had passed away, and then she suddenly transferred to a different hospital." CJ began calming herself down, trying not to sound too dramatic in her explanation. "We didn't see our baby again."

"Seeing a child dead, is a very traumatic experience." Abbey stated slowly. "But hospitals don't take the child straight to the morgue. Parents need closure, and so the doctors allow them to see the body."

"I didn't, Toby didn't, something is wrong with that right?"

"We should talk to Jed." Abbey said sincerely, standing up and moving to CJ's side. "We can get the FBI to do some sort of background check on the midwife, if you can remember…"

"Merideth White." CJ cut in. "Although she could have changed it. She had blonde hair, dark blue eyes and was roughly five foot four."

"When I first met Alex, there was something familiar about her and I just couldn't pick it. She's intelligent, well-mannered, and has a brilliant sense of humour." Abbey smiled, putting an arm around CJ as she sat on the arm of her chair. "And the orphanage assured me she has a very explosive temper. Not to mention a stubborn streak when she is attacked over something she is very passionate about."

"If it is her though, it's kind of odd how this all worked out."

"CJ, if Alexandra isn't your daughter, then you and Toby have twins somewhere that are in a similar predicament."

"She has eyes like my mother. I noticed it the day she was born." CJ smiled. "Do you know how many times I have dreamed of this?"

"This exact outcome?" Abbey raised an eyebrow at the thought.

"Well no, I didn't fantasise that The First Family would adopt my, presumably, deceased daughter." Pausing for a moment, she considered the idea. "I don't think anyone would come up with that."

"It's like dreaming of becoming a princess when you were little."

"Actually, when I was little I dreamt of becoming the Press Secretary to the President of The United States." She smirked. "However my friend Luke was always the president at the time. Strangely enough his last name was Roosevelt." CJ frowned at the thought.

"Well, that was a fortunate coincidence."

"Yes is was."

"I'll talk to Jed and see what we can do." Abbey assured her friend, giving her a hug. "In the meantime, how about you let Alex follow you around like a new puppy?"

"You're comparing my daughter to an animal?"

"A cute and playful animal…" Abbey defended herself. "One that is definitely lovable."

"Alright, tomorrow morning send Alex to my office. Seeing as I have nothing better to do on a Saturday." Standing up, CJ grabbed a chocolate cookie from the bag on the table. "I love these."

"So does AJ." Abbey smirked.

"AJ? Ha, that's cute."

"She likes it." Abbey informed her. "Alex and Jed were amused by the idea that the next Press Secretary could be named AJ."

"I'm sure there's been someone in The White House named AJ." CJ frowned, trying to think for a moment about the name. "And I'm sure I'll work it out at some ungodly hour when I'm trying to sleep."

"Goodnight Claudia Jean."

"Night Abbey, see you tomorrow." CJ grinned, heading for the door. As she stepped through the door, and closed it behind her, CJ took a deep breath and dug her phone out of her coat pocket. Speed dial safely held Toby's number. Her thumb hesitated over the number before she put the phone away and headed for her car. There was no reason to bring Toby into the whole thing until it was determined that Alex was their daughter. She would just have to avoid him on this specific subject for some time, which wasn't too hard as he'd just think she was pissed off at him.


	5. Saturday October 28th

**Saturday, October 28th**

**6:55am**

"Holy Mother of God!" CJ yelped, almost jumping out of her skin as she noticed Alex out of the corner of her eye. "What are you doing in my office?" She asked, dropping her bag on her desk and collapsing in her chair.

"Feeding your fish…" Alex informed her, trying to hide the amused smile playing on her lips. "Abbey told me, last night, to come down today."

"Yeah, but I didn't expect you to be here this early."

"I'm sorry Josh informed me that you got in here early, and I figured if I'm going to spend the day with you and learn more about your job then I should do as you do and get here early…"

"Breathe." CJ interrupted, a grin spreading across her lips.

"Right, sorry." Alex stopped and sat on the edge of CJ's desk, one leg crossed over the other. "You have a fish."

"I do." CJ replied, gazing over a few headlines on her desk.

"In your office?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Her name's Gail, it's an awkward thing I have with a friend." She felt a little odd discussing Danny with a girl that was possibly her daughter, CJ continued. "Is my Personal Annoyance in?"

"Annoyance, not Assistant, I'll make a note of that." Alex laughed. "Carol muttered something about being here this early when Donna gets to go away with her boyfriend, and then went to find something good for me to eat."

"Yes, Abbey's been particular about getting some fat on your bones." CJ replied, ignoring the part about Carol.

"I guess I chose the wrong mother." Alex replied in jest, but CJ fell silent. "CJ are you okay? I can come back another time if this is an inconvenience." She said softly.

"Ah…" She considered the fantasy of telling Alex what could be, but decided against it. "I'll tell you when we finish up tonight. After all, we want to keep professional."

"The First Lady says that this administration is the biggest bunch of school yard misfits…"

"I meant to say 'keep up the _façade_ of being professional'. There's a big difference." CJ threw one newspaper towards the waste paper bin. "I assume 'misfits' in the broadest possible sense of the word."

"I believe so." Alex shrugged as CJ handed her a paper. "What am I doing?"

"Go sit on the lounge and tell me if you find something that, you think, we should be worried about on that front page."

"But…"

"I've been assured you could do my job better than me." CJ countered, looking over the top of her glasses at Alex.

"CJ…"

"If Abbey believes you have the capability to do my job, I don't doubt it. Although she didn't specifically state it as such, just enlightened me on how fascinated you are with politics and your supreme knowledge with all things political."

"So I'm looking for something we don't want in the papers?"

"Yes, that's what we're doing on this fine morning." CJ assured her, moving on to the next paper and frowning slightly. "That's a god awful picture of me. I'm not going to dignify this paper with a read through. That can be yours too." She tossed the paper towards Alex with a smile.

"Photo's are never flattering in the newspaper." Alex muttered as she picked it up off the floor. "This almost looks like the grainy photo of me they had a few days ago. With the exception of the podium and… well yeah, you get the point."

"How are things in your new home?" CJ asked, moving the conversation along as she got bored of the papers.

"It's fun. I've never had such a large bedroom before." Alex grinned from ear to ear, whether she knew it or not. In her heart CJ was excited for her, but at the same time wanted to pull her away from it all. "Jed's going to take me to Acadia National Park when he gets a chance."

"That will be thrilling." CJ muttered, rolling her eyes.

"It's amusing how entranced he can become in facts. I actually can't wait to go."

"Breakfast." Carol announced as she walked into the office. "Where are you going?" She asked, a little confused as she handed Alex a danish.

"Ooh, Breakfast at Tiffany's." Alex smiled as she dug in to her breakfast.

"That's what I was thinking." Carol shrugged. "So where's who going?"

"President Bartlet is going to show me a few of his favourite National Parks." Alex informed her, excitement obvious in her voice. Carol shared a worried look with CJ. "It was my decision that Acadia be the first one we visit. He says it's so often overlooked, and the slides are fantastic. Have you seen them CJ?"

"On numerous occasions." CJ muttered.

"I've only seen the more recent photos." Carol spoke up, a little disappointed.

"No more chatting. We have work to do." CJ snapped, motioning for Carol to leave her office. "I have to see Leo in two hours, then you can all stand around in Margaret's office and chat."

"Donna's planning on asking for her own office."

"Donna is always asking for something new." CJ quipped. "And your office is fine the way it is."

"I have no door. You're a horrible employer."

"I don't count, because I don't pay you." CJ smiled, and the door closed. "You've just been invited to the secret secretaries' gossip session."

"Is that fun?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know, I'm never really involved."

"Oh…"

"Basically when we all go to see Leo, our assistants make their way over because they're sick of having no one to bug. They join Leo's assistant in water cooler gossip, White House style."

"That sounds interesting."

"I'm sure they'd love to have you there." CJ laughed as she stood and picked up her notepad. "Let's go see The President."

"I don't think he's up yet." Alex informed her as she stood up and followed CJ. "He wasn't up when I had breakfast."

"If he's not in, then I wait until he's in." CJ replied. She walked quickly but Alex found it easy to keep up with her. "Have you met Mrs Landingham?"

"Yeah, I met her a few days ago. She's very nice." Alex smiled as they neared the Oval Office. "She gave me a cookie."

"Well that's a very good start. Toby usually doesn't get a cookie."

"Really?" Alex raised an eyebrow. "Toby sounds grumpy." Her words were followed by laughter from her companion.

"Yeah, wait till you actually meet him. He's even more fun then." Her sarcastic words came to a halt as they stopped at Mrs Landingham's desk. "Good morning Mrs Landingham."

"He's waiting for you CJ." She nodded towards the open door.

"Thankyou, do you mind if Alex stays with you?"

"Of course not, have a cookie Alex. Don't hold back, you need some meat on you." Mrs Landingham opened the jar for Alex. "She's like you CJ."

"Excuse me Mrs Landingham?"

"How tall are you Alexandra?'

"I'm not really sure ma'am." Alex frowned, looking at CJ.

"You look around the same height, if not a little shorter than CJ, who is…"

"Six foot." CJ supplied for her, not sure what was happening.

"I'm just saying, you're both tall and you're both rather thin." Mrs Landingham told them as she stood up and walked towards the door to the Oval Office.

"I think the lack of weight has to do with our height." Alex told her, taking a bite out of her cookie. Mrs Landingham announced CJ and she disappeared into the Oval Office. "You really think we look alike Mrs Landingham?" Alex asked as she sat down.

"You share a few mannerisms too. Nancy agrees with me, don't you Nancy?"

"Ah, yes Mrs Landingham." Nancy replied as she walked into their office, causing Alex to laugh. "What am I agreeing to?" She asked quietly.

"That CJ and I are alike." Alex laughed, before considering it for a moment. "I like it."

**

* * *

8:45am**

"Are you looking forward to meeting the rest of the Bartlet family?" Margaret asked.

"Yeah, it should be heaps of fun." Alex answered as if it should have been obvious. She found herself cornered by a group of women all wanting to know how she was, and what was happening in her life.

"Everyone let Alex breathe." Carol caused over the noise from where she sat on the edge of Margaret's desk. "You're all acting like she's a newborn baby."

"That's unfair." Everyone seemed to agree with Donna. "You've been hanging out with her all morning."

"Actually, I've spent the morning with CJ." Alex replied, starting to feel left out of the conversation that seemed to be all about her. "After all, that's where I told Abbey I'd be. So I can't go somewhere she's not, within reason." She smiled as Carol tried to hide a grin. She'd been commenting on Alex acting as CJ's shadow every time the two had left the office together. Alex seemed content to be just that. She'd move silently through the room, right behind her new mentor. Even her mannerisms would echo CJ's at times.

"She has, I've tried to kidnap her numerous times. CJ hardly let's me anywhere near her." Grabbing a cookie from the box on the desk, Carol winked in Alex's direction.

"CJ seems a little off lately." Ginger spoke up.

"Well Toby's not his usual self either." Carol frowned, instantly taking the comment as an attack on her boss.

"It's just an observation Carol." Bonnie spoke up. "Have you noticed they've hardly spoken to one another?" The cookies were finally being passed around again, and Bonnie's attention disappeared into the box.

"Are they a couple?" Alex asked, causing everyone to fall silent. She raised an eyebrow. "I just thought…"

"They've known each other for years." Carol informed her.

"No one really knows how long…" Bonnie began to say, but was interrupted by Ginger as she sat down next to Alex.

"But they've always been very close." She said quietly.

"They were engaged at some point." Carol mentioned, without really thinking.

"What?" Everyone turned their attention on Carol, and Alex was grateful for the break. After all, Carol's information was much more intriguing.

"Why didn't you tell us this?" Margaret asked.

"I thought we agreed we'd tell each other everything." Donna pouted, seeming upset over the whole thing. "I'm always the last to know these things."

"It's because you're too interested in what Josh is doing." Margaret said quietly.

"We have to go." Ginger suddenly yelped, looking at her wrist watch.

"What, why?" Alex asked Carol as they started moving. She still hadn't quite worked out how a typical morning worked for the Assistants of the Senior Staff.

"Because the Staff Meeting will be over and we need to be ready for when everyone come out." There were two voices distinctly heard arguing from behind a door as they passed. From memory, Alex knew that it was another door to the Oval Office.

"Is that CJ in there?" Alex asked quietly.

"Yeah, which means it will be better to go back to the office and wait for her."

"Why?"

"Trust me AJ, going into her office before playing mind games with the press will be the best thing for her." Carol replied as they walked away from the Oval Office.

"What do you think she's arguing about?"

"It could be anything if Toby's in on it." Carol replied, not really taking notice of what she was saying. Alex frowned, she still hadn't met Toby and it seemed like it wasn't something to look forward to.

* * *

"Damn it, give up." CJ growled as she walked into her office, slamming the door behind her. For a moment all Toby could do was stand there and stare at the door. She'd never slammed a door in his face before.

"You must be Toby." He turned to find a familiar face looking at him. Her blue eyes captivated him, but his expression didn't show it. "I'm Alex."

"Toby Ziegler, Communications Director." He shook hands with the girl. He'd only seen her in passing, but to have her there in front of him… the child could not look more like CJ if she tried.

"I've heard a lot about you Mr Ziegler." Alex raised an eyebrow as she noticed he was taking in her appearance. She suddenly felt too casual in the clothes she was wearing. Maybe she should have been wearing something a little more formal, if she dressed up he wouldn't be looking at her in the way he was. The problem being, she couldn't work out what the look meant.

"Likewise…" Toby muttered as he noticed Carol watching him carefully. "CJ's going to need you in a minute."

"I know." Carol nodded. She watched as Toby took another look at Alex and left the room. Something was wrong. There was something going on in The West Wing that she was unaware of, and it was annoying the hell out of her.

* * *

**A/N:** I'd like to know your opinion on whether Abby or CJ should talk to Alex about the possibility that she is CJ's daughter. I was going to go with Abby telling her, but have thought differently since beginning to post this. What do you think?  
Hope you're all enjoying it so far, and I promise there's some Josh/Donna and Sam/Ainsley stuff coming up. 


	6. Monday October 31st

**Monday October 31st**

**1:10pm**

"So the girls are arriving on Friday…" Abbey spoke up as they ate lunch.

"And I hoped to have a relaxing weekend." Jed chuckled, sparking soft laughter from both Alex and Zoey. "To what do we owe the pleasure of a house full of women?"

"You already have a house full of women Dad." Zoey informed him, passing her plate to Alex who quickly removed the salad. "And considering the amount of women in The White House, you shouldn't be complaining. Alex agrees with me."

"Don't bring me into this." Alex sang as she handed the plate back.

"Smart move kid, how's your day with CJ been?" He asked, thinking it wise to change the subject. "It's a bit different around here at the beginning of the week."

"I'm really enjoying the whole inside look at what goes on in The White House." Alex replied, grinning wildly as she ate. "Carol looks after me when CJ's got important meeting I can't sit in. I love watching her do the Press Briefings, although I have to stand back so the press don't see me. But don't you think it's cool how easily she can manipulate these people and get what she wants out of them while being able to stop them from sniffing around something completely…"

"Alex…" Abbey said softly, reaching across the table to hold the girl's hand.

"I'm talking too much." Alex sighed, wishing she could stop that habit. She wasn't sure what is was, but she suddenly felt the need to tell her new family everything. It was possibly to do with how excited she was. The novelty still hadn't worn off. "It's a lot of fun to be working with CJ, that's all."

"I agree with you Alex." Zoey gently nudged the younger girl with her elbow. "Wait till you get older, she's so much fun to drink with and…"

"ZOEY!" Both Abbey and Jed exclaimed.

"What?" Zoey looked a little shocked by their outburst. "I was going to say she's fun to talk to about boys."

"Yes Zoey because Claudia Jean has a brilliant track record…" Jed muttered.

"JED!" Abbey slapped his shoulder.

"Dad that's mean."

"Oh, you both know it and so does she." Jed defended himself. "In fact she said so to me one of the numerous nights' she's been set up with men." He frowned towards Abbey.

"I have never steered her wrong. Each man is good looking and well educated…" Abbey began, holding her head high as she continued. "They admire her as a woman, and respect her job as White House Press Secretary. Most of them are also a good Zodiac match too."

"Did your ouija board locate them?" Jed asked sarcastically.

"No…" Abbey hesitated, glancing at Alex with a mischievous smile.

"Abbey, where do you find these men?"

"Looking for love dot com." She answered quickly. Seeing Jed's eyes widen, she knew she'd have to explain. "Not all of them. Some of them I genuinely meet through friends, and besides it was Carol's idea."

"Don't put this onto Carol."

"Actually, I wouldn't put it past her." Alex interrupted. "Carol does get a bit too involved in CJ's personal life."

"I know, but that's not the point." Jed told her. "The point is that The First Lady has placed some sort of advertisement on the internet regarding someone I think of as one of my own children."

"And you don't think that I think of her as a daughter too?"

"This is where they forget we exist." Zoey whispered to Alex.

"You wouldn't put anyone else's information on a computer in order to get them a date. It's a direct elimination of her privacy." Jed countered. "Does she even know about it?"

"Of course not, it would defeat the purpose."

"Tell me Abigail, if CJ was to know about this, what do you think she would do?" Jed placed his fork on his plate and waited patiently for the reply.

"She'd probably ask us to take it down."

"You think she'd be quiet about it?"

"Possibly…" Abbey wanted desperately for the conversation to come to an end. For once she had no high ground and it was becoming frustrating.

"Do you remember when I asked Leo to hire Ainsley Hayes?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember CJ's reaction?"

"Yes." Abbey sighed, realising what he meant. "Leo said she screamed at him in a room full of people."

"My advice to you is, don't tell her in a room full of people." Jed smiled to himself and continued with his lunch. There was silence in the room for a moment.

"May I be excused from the table?" Alex suddenly asked. "I promised CJ I'd be back by two o'clock." Both Jed and Abbey nodded.

"I might go with Alex." Zoey said as she finished off her lunch.

"She already has Kate." Jed raised an eyebrow, motioning towards the Secret Service Agent who had just appeared by the door.

"I want to talk to Alex about some stuff."

"Go ahead. I have to get going anyway." All three stood, leaving Abbey still sitting at the table. She watched them leave the room and sighed.

"I'll just sit here then." She muttered to herself. "Don't worry about me, there's CJ and midterms. I'm fine, really although I am talking to myself." She rubbed her hand against the back of her neck and thought for a moment. She had to talk to CJ and organise a DNA test. Most importantly, Alex had to be informed of CJ's suspicions.

**

* * *

1:55pm**

"Hey CJ," Zoey grinned as she walked into the office, followed closely by Alex. "Having a fun time with my new little sister?"

"So, I take it there's no sibling rivalry as of yet?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not, who could possibly argue with me?" Alex flashed a cheeky smile and collapsed onto the couch. "Although Zoey followed me down here, I think she's worried I'll steal something."

"I am not!" Zoey laughed. "Just wanted to get away from Mom and Dad…"

"Something wrong?" CJ leaned forward. She was a little curious as to what was happening in the Residence, now that Alex had settled in.

"Mom's had something on her mind all weekend." Zoey shrugged. She glanced at Alex. "We've been avoiding both of them, because they've been clashing frequently."

"Oh…" She could think of a good reason Abbey's mind was elsewhere. Maybe it was time she finally had a talk with Alex, but she'd have to talk to Abbey again first.

"What's on your mind, Ceej?" Cocking her head to one side, Alex focused solely on the older woman. Her brow furrowed in a way that reminded CJ of Toby when he was concentrating on a speech.

"I just realised I'm supposed to be meeting with The First Lady to continue a discussion we had last week."

"When I was beating her at Monopoly?"

"You were beating Mom at Monopoly?" Zoey asked in shock. "Wait, we have Monopoly?"

"Yeah, it was buried under all these other games." Alex shrugged. She looked between CJ and Zoey. "Was I supposed to let her win?"

"No, no." Zoey shook her head quickly. "I'm just surprised that's all. Only two other people have dared to beat my mother at any game."

"Who?"

"Liz and, of course, CJ," Zoey sighed and looked up to where Gina was looking at her watch. "I think I have a lecture to get to. Gina's been checking her watch for the past few minutes." She rolled her eyes as she headed for the door.

"Don't fall asleep." CJ teased.

"It's McCoy, I can't help it." Zoey shrugged playfully and disappeared out the door.

"McCoy sounds boring." Alex sighed, watching Gail stare back at her.

"It seems that way." CJ replied.

"CJ," Carol appeared in the doorway, looking a little confused. "Abbey's on her way down, she says it's time."

"Thankyou Carol," CJ sighed, standing up and straightening her skirt. "Alex, can you tidy up those files for me?" She nodded towards the papers strewn across the room.

"What's it time for?"

"The continuation of our discussion," Was the response.

"Should I sit outside with Carol?"

"No, no," Abbey appeared in the doorway, a sly smile on her face. "I requested that Carol be called ten minutes after I left my office, just to catch you trying to clean."

"Well, you caught me." CJ shrugged. "Have a seat Abbey." She motioned to the sofa as she sat back down at her desk.

"Are you sure you don't want me to leave?" Alex asked quietly, her backpack ready on her shoulder for a quick escape.

"We would actually like to talk to you." Abbey replied. She moved over a little as the young girl sat next to her. "We think we may have found your mother." She began delicately, looking to CJ for support.

"Really?" Alex glanced between the two women, a slight frown darkening her bright eyes. Her mind desperately sorted through the questions that wanted to spill out of her mouth. "You only 'think' you may have found her?" She asked cautiously. Not wanting to get too excited on a whim.

"Well, the person in question has no doubt that you are her daughter." CJ offered, noticing Abbey was a little lost for words. "But Abbey has suggested getting a DNA test, just to be positive. Would you be okay with that?"

"It would probably be better for us to get the test before we meet, right?" Alex looked hopefully at Abbey, under the impression that she held all the answers to her multitude of questions. "That way neither of us has really met, and we won't be disappointed if we don't get the outcome we want. Unless…"

"She has already met you, Alex." Abbey confirmed with a curt nod of her head. "And to be honest, I noticed a resemblance when I first saw you." Her glance trailed to CJ and Alex frowned.

"CJ?" Her eyes widened as she turned to her friend. All she received in reply was a slight shrug. She opened her mouth to say something and then thought better of it. Again she turned to Abbey, before risking another glance at CJ. "Excuse me for a moment." She muttered quietly and walked out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her with a strong thud.

"That went well." CJ sighed, leaning back in her chair and pinching the bridge of her nose. She closed her eyes tight in a desperate hope that it was all a bad dream.

"It wasn't the worst case scenario." Abbey told her sincerely, standing up and walking over to the door. She moved the blinds slightly and took in the sight of Alex discussing a magazine with Carol. Just like CJ and Toby, she'd act as though everything was fine until it all bubbled to the surface. "Give her some time, she'll come around."

"She hates me for not saying anything. Hell, Abbey, I hate me for that, so it's understandable."

"Spend the weekend with her, this weekend even." Abbey offered. "That gives Jed and I a chance to talk to the rest of our immediate family before they meet Alexandra."

"I can't do this weekend." CJ groaned, finally opening her eyes. She watched Abbey glance through the blinds again. "My best bet is to have her sleep over at my place on Saturday night, and we can hang out on Sunday." Her attention was drawn to what must be outside, and Abbey noticed it in her eyes.

"Alex is mucking around with Carol." Abbey informed her. "She's avoiding what's right in front of her until she really has to deal with it. I know two people who do that a lot."

"What if it doesn't work out?" There was a slight quiver in CJ's voice as she spoke. She felt as though something had caught in her throat.

"If it doesn't work out, Jed and I will finalise the adoption papers with your consent." Abbey shrugged, biting her lip slightly. "We'll see if anyone else in the Senior Staff wants to get to know Alex over the weekend. Then it won't seem too unusual to anyone waiting for a story to come from Alexandra's biological family. She'll come around Claudia Jean. Keep your faith." Smiling, Abbey disappeared out the door with the young girl in question hot on her heels.

"Oh god, I hope you're right." Letting her head drop onto the desk, CJ groaned.

* * *

**A/N: **I thought I better update before people start sending me death threats. The next chapter is rather short... and **then** we move onto the Josh/Donna, Sam/Ainsley and all that stuff for a few chapters while CJ goes to visit her family. Because I want to stay focused on Alex, and her realtionship with other staff members,for the time being and not entirely CJ. 


	7. Thursday November 3rd

**Thursday, November 3rd**

**8:05am**

"Is that all?" Jed asked. He was becoming bored as the conversation turned to what everyone would be wearing at, or who they were taking to, the upcoming fundraiser.

"Yes Sir." Came the reply from everyone, but as they got up to leave he stopped them.

"That's all for the work side of things." He walked over to his desk, while his staff desperately prayed that they weren't going to hear about the great National Parks of the world again. "Mrs Landingham, send them in please."

"Yes, Mr President." She replied through the intercom. Josh frowned and looked at Sam, who simply shrugged. Catching CJ's eye, he raised an eyebrow. CJ looked at her feet for a moment, readjusted the folder in her arms and glanced at Toby. Of course, Toby, being the man he was made no eye contact with anyone else in the room and just rocked back and forth on his feet with a very bored expression gracing his face. They all turned as the door opened, and Alex walked in followed by Abbey.

"This early in the morning and you're already turning heads." Abbey quipped, hugging Alex around the shoulders lightly. It was obvious to CJ that Alex wanted nothing better then to just go back to bed. Her cheerful disposition was purely show in order to be polite, and respectful towards the people in her company. She knew because she'd done it so many times when she was a child. "Alex needs a place to stay over the weekend, from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. So I thought this would be a brilliant opportunity for everyone to get to know her a bit more."

"The plan is that I spend a few hours with each of you." Alex summed up. "The rest of the First Family is going to be deciding on whether they like the idea of having me around or not."

"That's not true and you know it." Abbey frowned, moving to sit on the edge of Jed's desk. "Does anyone have a problem with this arrangement?"

"I have a… uh… dinner thing on Saturday." Sam stuttered and everyone looked at him. "It's a pretty special thing… so… uh… yes. I'm not good for Saturday night."

"You and Ainsley will have great kids." CJ laughed. "With your stuttering and her weird speech pattern, they'd be so hard to understand."

"I didn't say it was with Ainsley, isn't it possible that I…"

"No!" Everyone replied.

"Saturday morning, I can't do." Toby spoke up, still not making eye contact with anyone.

"Toby, I'd like to go to Temple with you." Alex spoke up, but still very quiet. "If you don't mind, I'm very interested in learning about different cultures."

"How did you know I go to Temple?" Toby asked suspiciously.

"Abbey told me, when we were discussing this whole arrangement." Alex shrugged, glancing at Abbey. "Please Toby, I promise I won't cause any trouble."

"I've got Saturday morning." Toby sighed, finally bothering to sit down. Knowing what was coming he looked up at CJ. "What about you?"

"What about me?" She asked defensively.

"When are you free to hang out with Alex, Claudia Jean?" He asked her in a rather teasing manner, although feeling like they were in a custody battle. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"I promised my brother I would visit him this weekend." CJ informed him. "I'm leaving after my last briefing on Friday and returning Saturday night. Alex can stay at my place then if she wants." She looked over at Alex who just shrugged and nodded. CJ turned her attention to Abbey who frowned slightly before continuing with the plans. After half an hour the weekend for Alex had been completely laid out and everyone was free to go about their day. As CJ left the Oval Office she felt as though the air around her was the same fresh air in her hometown. It was suddenly so much easier to breathe, and she resisted the urge to run and hide in her office. It was all going to take time.

* * *

"CJ." Abbey called out as she hurried after her. "I need to get a swab of saliva from you."

"Ew." CJ replied as she walked past Carol and handed her notes over.

"I've already got one from Alex. I marked it 'AJ', and I'm going to mark yours 'Jean'."

"A lot of thought went into that." CJ muttered as Abbey closed the door to the office.

"Actually it did." Abbey replied, deciding to ignore the bitterness in her friend's voice. "Jed and I couldn't decide whether we'd just put 'Jean' or go completely out of the way and use 'Gail'. But we ran the risk of Danny catching on to that, right?" She raised an eyebrow with a sly smile.

"Alright, let's do it."

"Open wide." Abbey said, as though she was a dentist talking to a small child. She pulled a swab out of her pocket and pushed it up through the lid. Reluctantly CJ opened her mouth and Abbey rubbed the swab against the inside of her mouth a few times. "Not painful at all. You can have a lollipop." Abbey smiled as she tucked the swab safely inside its tube and tapped the lid shut. Out of her other pocket she pulled a bright red lollipop.

"I'm not a child Abbey." CJ groaned, moving to sit down at her desk.

"Are you kidding me?" Abbey placed the lollipop on CJ's desk. "Anytime Jed gets me to look at any of the Senior Staff, you always get lollipops. You've even argued with Toby and Josh when they both got red lollipops and you got a green one."

"It was just a game." CJ shrugged.

"You threatened Josh with the removal of certain body parts if he didn't hand it over." Abbey replied. She watched CJ shuffling papers around on her desk. "You even had one when I gave you a sedative to ease the pain when you got root canal done."

"Please don't go there." CJ sat down and rested her head in her hands. "Saturday night is going to be _so_ much fun." Her sarcastic tone was not missed by the First Lady. Not missing a beat, Abbey used the baby routine again.

"Mrs Landingham might give you a cookie, if you ask nicely." To her relief CJ looked up and grinned.


	8. Friday November 4th

**A/N:** There is only hints of Josh/Donna and Sam/Ainsley... because this is, of course, a CJ/Toby fic. So if you're expecting heaps of these other two couples... I hope you haven't got your hopes set on it.**

* * *

**

Friday, November 4th

**7:30pm**

As Alex walked into the apartment, she couldn't help but look around in awe. It was all so comfortable and so very homey. What she'd always expected a real home to be like. Not the ones made up specifically to adopt a child, but a real home lived in, and furnished, by a person who truly knew the meaning of love. "Thankyou for letting me stay here tonight." Alex said softly, readjusting her bag over her shoulder.

"You can just drop your bags anywhere." Josh smiled, moving into the kitchen and turning on the light. "I'll show you your room as soon as we attack a menu." He opened a draw and pulled out a few takeout menus.

"Takeout?"

"Yeah… I forgot to ask what you liked to eat, so I didn't plan anything."

"You just got off work Josh, I wouldn't expect you to cook anything." Alex said as she sat down at the counter. "Besides, I have a strong love of Chinese food."

"Well that narrows that down." Josh laughed. "You really do fit in around The White House." He said as he slid the chosen menu across to Alex.

"Yep." Alex replied, thinking of CJ. "I'd say I was born to fit in with you guys."

"So you make a few choices, and I'm going to make a quick phone call…"

"Donna said she was going to pick up some movies and be here soon." Alex interrupted, sensing Josh felt a little odd having a fourteen-year-old girl in his house. "She thought it might be easier for you if she comes over."

"She worries about me." Josh frowned. "Well then, we're going to party. So you better order bucket loads of food." He winked and grabbed the cordless phone off the wall, disappearing from the kitchen. Alex smiled to herself as she glanced over the menu's available to her

**

* * *

11:38pm**

Grabbing a Diet Coke from the fridge, Alex headed back into the lounge room and snuggled up in an armchair across from Josh and Donna. They seemed to be purely interested in the movie that was still playing. Alex had lost interest some time ago. It was all about finding your true love, yet another way for Donna to try and send a few hints to her boss. She glanced at the two again. They'd inched towards each other and managed to end up quite close together and sharing a bowl of popcorn. They seemed all too intrigued with the sappy romance movie.

"I'm going to change into my pyjamas." Alex spoke up, attracting Josh's attention from the movie.

"What time is it?"

"It's getting close to midnight." Alex shrugged, sipping her Coke. "We're on to the second movie, you guys can keep watching it if you want. I feeling kinda tired."

"Okay." Donna glanced at the can of soft drink. "Are we supposed to stop you from drinking that?"

"It's a party Donna." Josh argued playfully, grabbing a handful of popcorn. "Besides, she's a teenager. Let her have fun."

"I'll leave you guys to argue amongst yourselves." Alex laughed, leaving her drink on the coffee table in hopes of allowing the discussion to be put to rest. She headed towards the guest room, enjoying the family feeling that was so often part of the atmosphere in the West Wing. She closed the door behind her and grabbed her backpack from the bed, ignoring her suitcase for the moment. Digging through the random contents that filled her bag, she searched for something unusual. And there it was, an envelope stuck between the pages of her book. She'd seen Abbey put something in her bag before she left, but wasn't sure what it was. She sat down on the bed and crossed her legs as she opened the letter and read it carefully.

_

* * *

Dear Alex,_

_I hope that everything is going well with Josh, and I hope he's not feeding you junk food till all hours of the night. Remember that Toby's picking you up early so you don't want to stay up too late. I've enclosed a photo that I thought you might like._

_You need to let CJ explain things to you. The test will wake some time, but at least give her a chance. Spending time with Toby tomorrow, you'll have to be careful what you say. The two are very close friends and Toby won't take kindly to anything you say that may be quite mean towards CJ. Besides, CJ is looking forward to getting to know you better. Be nice._

_There will be enough problems without you two arguing as well._

_All my love,_

_Abbey_

* * *

Finishing the letter, Alex glanced at the photo that had fallen out of the envelope. From pictures she'd seen she knew the background as their home in Manchester. Jed and Abbey stood on the porch with Zoey and CJ by their side. Almost as if CJ belonged in their family. "We all belong somewhere." Alex whispered, focusing on the laughter that seemed to be caught in the four faces. "I want to belong here." She put the photo away and changed into her pyjamas. It was time to head back out and see how much sexual tension she could deal with before she actually set up a blind date for Josh and Donna… or a wedding. 


	9. Saturday November 5th

**Saturday, November 5th**

**11:05am**

"I really enjoyed the service…"Alex grinned, but paused for a moment.

"Yes, you can still call it a service." Toby answered her question before she could form the words. He opened the car door for her and she slid in. As he walked around to the driver's side he considered Alex. All morning he had noticed little traits that made him think of CJ, and he had to admit she did look a lot like CJ's mother. Not that he'd known CJ's mother when she was fourteen, it wasn't like CJ didn't have photos of her mother around her apartment.

"Did you enjoy it, Toby?" As Toby got in the car, Alex couldn't help herself. She wanted to talk to Toby, bring him out of his shell. Surely he had a sweet side. "I'm sorry I'm talking too much." She apologised, hanging her head to hide the blush spreading across her cheeks.

"No, it's fine." Toby even laughed a little as he said it. "I'm used to it by now. Besides, you spent the entire morning in silence while at Temple."

"Yeah, I found it really fascinating." Alex replied, unable to wipe the grin from her face. "I also didn't want to be rude in any way."

"You were the perfect example of a well behaved child."

"I've always been told that, it must be a genetic trait." She noticed Toby frown and she continued. "Appointed shrinks have always told me that I'm not what they expect for someone who's been in and out of people's homes since I was six."

"Since you were six?" Toby asked as he parked the car.

"Yeah I lived with my Aunt until she died."

"Ah, CJ seems to think…"

"You know?" Alex asked. She was a little confused.

"Of course," Toby replied as they got out of the car. "I've known CJ since I was seventeen years old. So naturally she tells me things. What about the DNA test?"

"What about it?" Alex asked. She grabbed her bags from the back of Toby's car and followed him into the apartment block.

"If you knew your family why bother going through with this, and possibly breaking her heart?"

"I only knew my Aunt, she wasn't even my real Aunt. She was a friend of my Dad's. She said my Mom ran out on us when I was born."

"CJ would never do anything like that." Toby told her. He stopped and unlocked the door to his apartment.

"I guess we'll find out."

"Let's settle this now." Toby stopped Alex in her tracks. "I've known Claudia Jean Cregg for the majority of both our lives. She is not the type to back down from any situation, particularly if it's challenging. She gets through things with ease, and if she doesn't she asks for help. Doesn't admit it to it, but she _does_ ask for help. If it does turn out that you are her daughter, your _real_ father would definitely make an appearance. He'd be proud of you for so many things, but not the treatment of your mother." He calmed down a little and headed for the kitchen, leaving Alex where she stood.

**

* * *

11:35am**

"I'm sorry." Alex said quietly as she walked into the kitchen after a little while. "I'd never show disrespect towards CJ. She's someone I've admired for the past few years of this administration. It's just a little odd, to suddenly be having a test done to determine whether she's my mother. I've always thought my mother didn't want me, and now she could be this woman I've always wanted to be like. It's surreal." She explained, as Toby listened with interest. For once he'd actually been regretting the words he'd uttered only moments ago. It wasn't in his nature to do so, but he was. When it came to Alex he felt bad talking to her, and he felt bad not talking to her. Now he felt even worse after shooting her down for no real reason. The only other person that made him feel this way was CJ.

"I shouldn't have snapped at you." Toby offered, yet still couldn't bring himself to apologise even to a girl who could be his daughter. "CJ's a good friend."

"I know. I shouldn't hold a grudge." Alex replied with a shrug. "Abbey left a note in my bag that said I should just give her a chance, and I will."

"That's good." Toby agreed in a gruff voice, whilst sporting a rather distant look. "There's Diet Coke if you want one. I'll tell CJ she drank it last time she was here."

"Cool, thanks." Alex smiled as she opened the fridge and found the box of cans down the bottom. "I take it you don't really like teenagers."

"Generally I don't like people. They somehow manage to reach new lows of stupidity each time I walk out my front door. Sometimes, all I have to do is wake up." Toby admitted, sipping his glass of water. "I have dealt with kids before. I have three nephews, and there's CJ's family. Her cousin was a round a lot for a while and she had a small child." They sat in silence for a while before Alex managed to think of something to say.

"Tell me how you met Miss Cregg." She said in her best 'nosey reporter' voice.

"How I met Miss Cregg?" Toby asked, unsure if the entire conversation was really happening. Was he really connecting with someone, other than CJ? That was unusual, to say the least.

"Yeah Toby, how did you meet CJ?" Alex asked again, intrigued by the subject. "You said you've known her since you were seventeen, so what happened?"

"Her Dad was a Maths teacher and her Mom was a Doctor. At one point Mrs Cregg transferred to New York, to further her education in new breakthrough procedures at the time. So the rest of the family came along. CJ and her brother's came to my school for two years. The youngest brother, Daniel, he was in my class. CJ was only three years younger than us. The three of us made a pretty good team."

"How many brothers does she have?"

"Two." Toby answered, almost before the question was formed. "Patrick and Daniel, they were called 'triple jay' when all three were together, which was quite a lame nickname. Each has a middle name starting with J, and so naturally they were PJ, DJ, and CJ."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, it seems their parents hadn't considered that when naming their children." Toby couldn't help but smile at the thought. It was amusing to think that he and CJ had done the same to their daughter on purpose. "It only ever stuck with CJ, because she hates being called Claudia."

"It's kind of cute." Alex smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Would it be so bad if CJ was your mother?"

"I don't know." Alex answered honestly. "Do you think she could handle it?"

"She's the White House Press Secretary, she can handle anything." Toby replied, he frowned at Alex but found the exact same look being shot back at him. The look, however, was different. Her eyes held the same fire that silenced the entire administration when her mother was in a bad mood. There was no doubt in that look, she was their daughter. "All first time parents have an adjustment period. They can't just handle it from the first breath their child takes. Although CJ has it a little easy, at the same…"

"At the same time, it's going to be the most difficult thing she's ever done." Alex broke in. "She's going to find it hard, because she's missed my childhood. There will be more to it then the whole silent love bond between mother and daughter in the beginning. We actually have to work on getting to know each other. We have to fill in gaps, and frankly I'm not looking forward to telling my life story…"

"Why?"

"Why what?" Alex inquired, finding her breath again after talking a bit too fast.

"Tell me your story." It wasn't a question, nor was it an order. He simply said it with the intention of finding out something new. He knew that she had been cutting herself, it had been released to the press by the last family she had been placed with. All they wanted was to give themselves a bit of publicity, with a link to The White House.

"I was born, tossed around from family to family, and ended up in this situation." Alex sighed. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious."

"Okay."

"You don't have to, I could find out for myself."

"Okay."

"I just thought I'd get to know you."

"I get it."

"You could be the daughter of my best friend, in which case I would have seen you almost every day of your life…"

"Toby, I get it!"

"You sound like CJ."

"Thanks… I guess." Alex smiled. "What do you want to know?"

"I'm not exactly sure. What do you want to tell me?" Toby asked. He didn't want to push anything that she was uncomfortable telling him.

"My first family I was with for three months. They had a child who was four years older than me, and she was determined to ensure that I was seen as the worst child ever. She was a little princess and managed to get me in trouble every time." Alex kept turning her Coke can around with her fingers. "My second family weren't as nice as they seemed. I was there to make it seemed like they were interested in a family, in order to get a promotion at work. When they'd go out I'd be locked under the stairs. I scored a few bruises when I didn't act in a satisfactory manner."

"Why didn't you talk to someone?"

"The orphanage found out. It's policy that a social worker checks up on how things are going for a while during the first year. I let it slip then."

"Smart girl." Toby smiled slightly.

"I like to think so." Alex replied. "So when's lunch?"

"Ainsley, should be picking you up in half an hour." Toby replied, glancing at his watch. "I'll drop your suitcase at CJ's apartment and take you to the airport to pick her up at nine."

"Do you think it would be rude if I ate before Ainsley got here?"

"With Ainsley, it would be rude if you removed all forms of the word food from your vocabulary." Toby smiled, motioning for her to run wild in the kitchen.

**

* * *

9:25pm**

There was nothing like flying on Air Force One. There was no need to be bustled around in a crowd whilst trying to get to the plane and all baggage was taken care of. Toby scowled as another person walked into him. Alex was finding it amusing. She held her backpack close to her as another wave of people appeared. "When does the flight get in?"

"Half past nine." Toby informed her, his hands digging deep into his coat pockets. "She should be arriving any minute."

"Is it crowds you don't like, or just people?" Alex asked with a sneaky grin.

"Can't it be both?" Toby asked, looking up at the screen to see when the flight was landing.

"I guess so." Alex shrugged. Her eyes were lingering on the vending machines a few feet from where they were standing. "I'm just going to grab a snack." She said suddenly.

"A snack?"

"Yeah, from the vending machine."

"It's close to ten o'clock." Toby argued in disbelief.

"So? I'm hungry."

"Maybe you shouldn't have had lunch and dinner with Ainsley." Toby muttered to himself, noting Alex had been hungry since he picked her up. "Do you need money?"

"No, Abbey gave me some."

"The First Lady gave you money to spend on food that's riddled with sugar?"

"She gave me money." She raised an eyebrow as if daring Toby to challenge her further.

"Don't be too long. CJ will be here soon." Toby said before allowing her to run off towards the beckoning chocolate bars. He kept his eye on her, worried a little that he may lose her in the ongoing waves of people. No Secret Service accompanied her for the entire weekend, and that scared him. Although, as he had seen many times before, if someone did want to harm a person in their position there was nothing that could stop them.

"Tobus!" He turned towards the voice to find CJ walking towards him. "Well this is a pleasant surprise. They let you out of your cage." She smiled as she joined him.

"It was decided that I come and pick you up."

"That's great, because I'm sick to death of cabs. Seriously I didn't realise there were so many cabs." CJ sighed, tucking a few stray hairs behind her ear. "They're so stuffy and revolting, and the drivers either talk to you excessively or look at you funny in the mirror. I'm sick of planes too. That wasn't anything like Air Force One…" She complained.

"Well no, it wouldn't be." Toby assured her, attempting to stop her from going any further.

"So who's Alex with?"

"Me."

"Then where is she?" She raised an eyebrow, unsure if she should be worried or not.

"I got a snack." Alex said as she joined the group. "How was your flight?"

"Don't start Claudia Jean." Toby warned her as she was about to start complaining again.

"Aw, you're so cute." CJ grinned and kissed Toby's cheek, not noticing Alex watching them closely. "How's your weekend been?" She turned her attention back to Alex, glancing at the numerous snacks in her hands.

"Pretty cool," Alex shrugged. She recalled Abbey's letter and continued. "How's your weekend been?"

"Interesting…" CJ glanced at Toby. "Dad's very interested in Alex."

"Ah, I see."

"Unlike you, he believes me." She spat out in a rather venomous tone.

"Are you sure he's not just humouring you?"

"You have no heart." The whispered words cut hard, and the look that accompanied them did not go unnoticed by the young girl nearby.

"You know…" Alex spoke up after a moment had passed. "It's way past my bedtime." She raised her eyebrows expectantly, waiting for them to just get moving.

"Time to go." Toby muttered and began walking toward the parking lot.

"It amazes me that you can go from sweet talking to a full blown argument so easily." Alex handed CJ a Snickers bar as she spoke. "What was that all about anyway?"

"We might have to have that discussion a bit later." CJ muttered, watching Toby walk off without them. "Do you remember where he parked? Because I don't think he's going to stop."

**

* * *

10:13pm**

Walking into her bedroom, CJ was happy to just collapse on her bed and never get up again. Her mind began to slowly block out all the things to do with work and family, she wanted to focus on herself for a moment. She felt sick, which was probably just jet lag. "Are you settled in?" She asked, noticing Alex standing in the doorway.

"Yes." Alex answered simply. "Toby brought me over beforehand to set up my things for the night."

"I keep forgetting to relieve him of my key." CJ laughed. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and patted the bed. "I won't bite you."

"Toby says to take caution."

"Toby's really made a good impression on you in twenty-four hours." CJ raised an eyebrow. "That's beaten his record by thirty years."

"I doubt that." Alex laughed, walking in to the room and sitting on the edge of the bed. "You two get along really well, you didn't originally?"

"No, we're the type of people that just click." Thinking about it, CJ found she was right. She couldn't think of a point when they hadn't had such a playful friendship. "The first time we met I'd just gotten out of the shower and was heading for my room. He bumped into me and I was mostly focused on not dropping my towel."

"All you were wearing was a towel?" Alex asked in amazement.

"A towel and a necklace, I was… well I was your age. Fourteen, and a gorgeous seventeen year old was suddenly standing there in front of me." A soft blush crept across her cheeks. As far as she knew, Toby had never told anyone. Although she had, in fact, told her brother Daniel. Of course, Daniel had gone through stages. First he found it amusing. Then, when he realised they did not go their separate ways immediately, he was ready to kill his new best friend. "Danny, that's my brother, he was about ready to gouge Toby's eyes out when I told him."

"Then why did you tell him?" Alex asked. It didn't make sense that CJ would tell her brother something like that when the outcome was guaranteed not to be pretty.

"Danny and I have always been very close." CJ shrugged, as if that was answer enough. "Patrick is seven years older than Danny, and he was off riding his bike and playing with friends when we were growing up."

"So you told Danny everything?"

"We kept each other's secrets, no matter what. It's important to have someone like that." CJ smiled. "He didn't even tell my parents I was pregnant out of wedlock until I was ready to tell them. My mother particularly, she was very sweet, but when it came to those good ol' Catholic values." She suddenly felt something touching her hand and turned her head to the side in order to see. Alex lay next to her and was staring up at the ceiling, a familiar thoughtful frown gracing her brow. Her fingers lightly danced their way into CJ's hand. It was a reminder of when she was five years old and she heard the lion roar at the zoo. Little Claudia Jean wanted to seem brave, but could not help sliding her hand into her mothers.

"What happened when you did tell them?" She asked quietly.

"Dad sat in silence, for what seemed like forever, while Mom headed into the kitchen to cook." Alex could feel CJ's hand beginning to tighten around hers. "Dad asked if I was happy, because that's all that mattered to him. I said I was and that was the end of that."

"What about your Mom?"

"She got over it." CJ sighed, her eyes still taking in every aspect of the girl lying next to her. "The fact that I was engaged at the time helped and Dad talked her down."

"Your Dad sounds cool."

"Yeah, he is." Taking a deep breath, CJ sat up and sighed. "I think it's time for bed."


	10. Sunday November 6th

**A/N: **Sorry about the delay. hopefully the next part won't take so long. I was just having issues breaking the ice with CJ and Alex.

* * *

**Sunday November 6th  
8am **

**--  
**Rolling over and stretching out, Alex reached for her watch. It was eight o'clock on a Sunday morning. She'd expected to be heading to church after CJ mentioned being Catholic. A little confused, she slipped out of bed and headed to the door. Realising she was still holding onto her teddy bear, Alex considered leaving it behind but thought better of it. Clutching it close to her, she slipped out the door and down the hallway. Outside she could hear a little traffic, but inside there was nothing. She crept up to CJ's door and knocked quietly. The door creaked, swinging open slowly and allowing Alex a perfect view of the large king sized bed. She smiled to herself, CJ was still snuggled up under the blankets. She turned to leave and hit her knee against the doorframe, crying out in pain."Alex?" She turned back to find CJ rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you." Alex said quickly, remaining outside the room.

"I was only half asleep." CJ admitted as she sat up and stretched. "Come in, you'll get cold in the hallway."

"I thought, maybe, we'd be going to church." Alex said quietly as she perched herself on the end of the bed, holding her bear tight.

"Only on holidays," Pulling her blankets up around her shoulders, CJ yawned. "With my job I like to sleep in, particularly when I've just visited my family. Sorry if you wanted to go."

"No, sleeping in is a good thing. It's understandable."

"Who's your friend?" CJ asked cautiously, nodding towards the bear.

"His name's Percy." Alex gently passed him to CJ for her to have a look. He was brown and scruffy, with one eye missing. "I've had him since I was seven, a girl at the orphanage gave it to me before she left." There were stitches missing on his feet and his left ear had begun to lose its soft fur, which only showed how much the poor old thing had been loved.

"That's a long time to have a friend."

"Yeah he's a little worn out." She admitted, taking him back and playing with the loose stitches on the bear's nose. "But it's not that long to have a friend, you've known Toby for much longer."

"And he's just as scruffy, if not more so." CJ added with a smile, making Alex laugh. With thoughts of Toby her eyes moved to her bedside table, where a simple black and white photo sat in a silver frame. It held a memory, as most photos did, of a time when everything had been so much easier, in particular, falling in love. There were no hurdles to jump and no secrets to hide.

"Toby has a photo like that one." Alex informed her, as if she didn't already know.

"My brother took it."

"Which one?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Daniel." CJ replied quietly as she stared at the photo. After a moment she glanced back at Alex. "How did you sleep?" She asked, wanting to get Toby out of her head. But with Alex around, that was going to be hard.

"Like a baby." She tapped her fingers on her ankle. "What about you?"

"Oh, I woke up a few times. Nothing new there."

"Something on your mind?"

"Quite a few things actually." CJ replied truthfully. "The DNA results being a major issue."

"Of course." Alex nodded. She had noticeably tensed at the mention of those three simple letters. "What happens if it's positive?" She asked quietly, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.

"Well, I guess we really should talk about this." CJ grabbed her spare pillow and hugged it tight. "Alex, what did your Aunt tell you about your mother?" She was careful not to speak to Alex as if everything she'd grown up with was the truth, just in case.

"She left." Alex frowned as she thought about it. "My Dad died in a car accident a few weeks before I was born, and Mom couldn't handle it. So I lived with my Dad's friend, Aunt Merideth until she passed away."

"He was in a car accident." CJ repeated to herself. She recalled Toby being in a car accident the week they called off the engagement. Only a few weeks previously their daughter had been pronounced dead.

"Yeah." Alex muttered, her fingers playing with the satin of her boxer shorts. "What about you?"

"Huh?"

"What happened to your daughter?" Alex asked. Her eyes refused to meet the blue ones gazing at her intently.

"Nothing like what you've described." CJ answered, frowning slightly. "I had a beautiful baby girl, and I was engaged to the love of my life. Three days later, my daughter was gone. We named her Alexandra Jane, and although five weeks premature she was quite healthy. We didn't see the body and the midwife had disappeared. I have never believed my daughter was dead. But so many people have tried to convince me."

"Abbey believes you." Alex assured her. "And if it means having a family, then so do I."

"If the tests are positive, you could move in here." Changing the subject seemed the best course of action, before an awkward silence fell between them. "Or we could get a house, unless you want to stay with the Bartlet's."

"I haven't really thought about it, but I guess it would come down to choosing between living with you and living with Abbey." Alex considered, finally looking up to meet CJ's eyes. "But a house would be good if…"

"He would have to have time to think about us all living under one roof." CJ quickly said, realising where the conversation was heading.

"If you are my mother…" Alex raised an eyebrow. "_He_ would be Toby?"

"The White House does not comment on the personal lives of their staff." CJ replied automatically, a sly smile playing on her lips. "How did you know?"

"Photo's Toby has around his apartment." Alex shrugged. A photo was such an intriguing object. It could tell someone so much just by capturing a moment in time. It was a wonderful way to hold onto memories, and Alex didn't have any. Between the ages of six and fourteen, the only photos she had were taken for the orphanage files. "And the comment you'd made about being engaged when you were pregnant."

"Would you like some breakfast?"

"I wouldn't mind some." Alex smiled as they stood and headed for the kitchen.

* * *

"Does Toby know that you know?" CJ asked as she opened the fridge, frowning at the lack of food. 

"I don't know if Toby knows that I know." Alex replied, taking a seat at the counter.

"You don't know… what?"

"I don't know if he knows that I know, you know?"

"You're one twisted kid." CJ laughed, searching for a jar of jam or anything else that would go well with toast.

"I don't think he knows." Alex sighed, watching as CJ removed random jars and plates of food from the fridge. "It was just a guess."

"Well, good work detective." CJ pulled out a plate and lifted the foil of it. "The chicken's not good to eat." She tipped the plate over the trash can and watched as the food disappeared.

"You were going to have chicken for breakfast?" Alex asked, raising and eyebrow.

"Of course." CJ shrugged. "Cold chicken sandwich, smothered in mustard."

"Heaven." Alex grinned. "I've never known anyone else who liked it that way."

"I love eating hot foods cold. Leftover pizza is the best."

"Leftover pizza is the god of all foods!" Alex cried out. "Particularly cheese pizza…"

"With a thick layer of tomato paste…" CJ interrupted. She grinned mischievously. "We should have pizza for lunch."

"Sounds like fun." Alex laughed, leaning over the counter to try and see what was in the fridge. "Do you have eggs?"

"Eggs…" CJ crouched down and managed to pull out half a carton of eggs. "They should be okay."

"Sit back and I shall cook scrambled eggs."

"You cook?"

"I do." She moved around the counter and grabbed the egg carton while CJ went searching for a cooking pot. "It greatly amused Ainsley. What time do I have to be back at the Residence?"

"Abbey said that dinner would probably be around seven, so maybe five thirty." CJ shrugged.  
So how did it go with Ainsley?" She asked playfully.

"She talks non-stop." Alex cringed as she turned on the stove. "The conversation varied between getting to know each other, food, and Sam. It was a little odd."

"I'm amazed you could keep up with her."

"Yeah, she's fun though," Alex shrugged. "So what are we going to do all day?"

"I'm not really sure." CJ shrugged. "I usually head into work I've never really had a reason to stay home and do… whatever."

"Way to have fun." Alex replied sarcastically.

"You know what? Why don't we do nothing, everything, and absolutely anything we feel like?"

"Miss Cregg you've got yourself a deal." They shook hands and proceeded to plan their day. CJ insisted that whenever they stopped to eat they played two rounds each of Truth or Dare, whilst Alex insisted they sit in the lift outside CJ's door and play scrabble on the floor. It was going to be a day of spontaneous fun.

**

* * *

5pm  
--  
**Walking with CJ towards her car, Jed amused himself with thoughts of CJ and Toby becoming a family. But other thoughts plagued his mind and he hid his smile. "Claudia Jean, would I be right in thinking you took part in a scavenger hunt today at lunch time?" 

"Whereabouts would that have been sir?" CJ asked politely, hoping she wasn't in too much trouble.

"Well, I could have sworn there were a few Senior Staffers and a fourteen year old girl rollerblading throughout the car park in an attempt to beat each other to certain objects and take them back to Toby's car." Jed explained.

"You sure know a lot of the facts sir."

"I have my sources." Jed smiled, and CJ knew straight away who he was referring to.

"You were gossiping with Margaret?"

"I was discussing odd occurrences in the White House with Margaret."

"Of course sir." CJ grinned, pulling her keys out of her pocket.

"I just want to know why I wasn't invited." Jed thought about it for a moment. "I'm sure I could work out a pair of rollerblades. They aren't that hard are they?"

"No sir." CJ laughed as they reached the car. "I'm sure we could teach you quite easily. It can be another sport you can beat us at."

"Just as it should be Claudia Jean. Don't let anyone tell you different."

"It was Alex that organised it, so you'll have to take it up with her." CJ informed him, slipping into her car and winding down her window. "Thankyou for letting us get away with it sir."

"Anyone that can get Toby involved, whether he wears skates or not deserves to do whatever they want." He replied. "Congratulations on filling his car with useless junk, by the way."

"We tried our best to get a goat in there, but it wasn't working out for us."

"Drive safely."

"I don't live that far away."

"Claudia." Jed said in a warning tone and she gave a curt nod of agreement.

"Goodnight, sir."

"Goodnight, CJ." Jed smiled as he watched CJ drive off, and he spoke to Ron quietly as they walked back. "If these tests come back positive I want a security detail on CJ at all times."

"We'd have to speak to Miss Cregg about that, sir. But I'll start organising it."

"Thankyou Ron." Jed nodded, and they continued on their way back to the Residence.

**

* * *

8pm  
--  
**Standing in front of her bathroom mirror naked, CJ stared at her reflection with a frown on her face. Her hand caressed her stomach for a moment, her fingers lingering on a fourteen year old scar. Almost unnoticeable, she could recall her psychiatrist telling her how it could be harder for women to deal with the death of a baby when they've had a Caesarean section. The scar didn't always disappear. Her normal routine continued as she let a tear roll down her cheek. Moving her attention further up, she pressed her fingers against her stomach to test the muscle and flinched a little at the pain it caused. Again her hands glided up to her breasts and she froze. As a young teenager she would press her, still developing, breasts together to try and make them look bigger. As an adult, she couldn't help but repeat the process. Every time she stepped out of the shower it was the same, she would stand there and criticise her body. She could remember a time when she'd stopped the habit, but that was long gone. 

The final part of her routine was her face and hair. She smiled, and suddenly everything seemed different to what she'd been used to. She had become accustomed to comparing herself to her mother quite positively, but suddenly she could see characteristics she shared with her daughter. The smile that was so like her mother's, reminded her of the smile she'd seen the first time she met Alex. Her mother's cheekbones that she had prayed for every night until she finally lost all the baby fat in her cheeks, similar to the ones Alex seemed to have. Her hair, dark and wavy - as long as she treated her curls appropriately. As far as she'd seen Alex did not have complete curls, it was mostly wavy with a few half ringlets. She smiled again and grabbed her towel, wrapping it around her tightly, and headed for the door.

"Oh my God!" She screeched as she came face to face with Toby.

"Hi." Was all he said as he sat down on her bed, and reached for the book on her bedside table. He glanced up at her and took in her appearance before examining the book.

"What the hell are you doing in my bedroom?" She yelled at him, attempting to close her towel tighter.

"Why the hell are you yelling?"

"Because you're in my bedroom!" CJ yelled again, and watched in confusion as he simply stood and left the room. She stared at the closed bedroom door and frowned. "Toby?" She called out after a moment.

"Yeah?" He was only standing on the other side of the door.

"Come back in," She sighed, walking over to her closet to get dressed. "What did you want?"

"I thought you might want to have a drink," Toby offered, and CJ simply raised an eyebrow. "I thought you might want to talk about something."

"Toby…"

"Okay, I thought you might want to talk about Alex." He lay down on the bed and flipped through the book until he found CJ's bookmark.

"She's knows it's you," She said simply. "And she worked it out all on her own. Which I knew had t happen, because she talked about you non-stop. Toby this, Toby that, and apparently you have a lot of photos of me in your house."

"You know that."

"Did you ever think that could be why you and Andy didn't work out?" CJ asked seriously as she changed into her pyjamas.

"You're not the reason Andy and I didn't work."

"Do you even know the reason?" CJ began to dry her hair as she sat on the bed next to him. He was silent for a moment, thinking, attempting to find an answer for her.

"It wasn't you, CJ. We didn't work."

"Okay then," She snatched her book of him and dropped it on the floor. "Want a drink?"

"What have you got?"

"I believe your good friend Jack is in the kitchen." CJ smiled, pulling him with her as she got off the bed and headed out the door.

* * *

"What do you want to do when the tests comes back positive?" 

"When?" CJ asked, almost choking on her drink. "You spend a day with the girl and suddenly you're on my side?"

"It's not a case of taking sides," Toby countered. "It's a case of you're right and I'm wrong. I apologise, and if you repeat this to anyone I will deny it and disown our daughter."

"There's the Tobus I know and love." She grinned, stretching out on the lounge.

"So what are we going to do when we get the tests back?"

"I asked Alex that and she said she wasn't sure," CJ bit her lip for a moment before continuing. "I suggested buying a bigger house and she said she wouldn't mind, if we bought it as a family."

"Do you want to try and pick up where we left off?"

"With the exception that we won't be woken up at all hours of the night, and she's already toilet trained." She laughed.

"Marry me, CJ."

"It's not as simple as that."

"And you think it would be easier for all involved for two respectable Senior Staffers to reveal they have an illegitimate child together?"

"Whether we are married or not, she's still going to be illegitimate." CJ examined the bottom of her empty glass. "Well at least she is now."

"CJ, we were engaged for two years before you fell pregnant."

"We're not having this argument." CJ stood up and headed back into the kitchen to find another bottle.

"I love you." Toby muttered, following after her like a puppy.

"You're deranged."

"You drink too much."

"You taught me how."

"Marry me." He stood between her and the liquor cabinet.

"Make me." She whispered, leaning into him. In life she'd made so many mistakes, but only two with Toby. The first was not marrying him after being engaged for two years, the second was leaving him, and suddenly a third was taking place. She shouldn't have leant in to him, she shouldn't have been drinking with him in the first place, and as their mouths clashed she knew she shouldn't sleep with Toby Ziegler.


	11. Monday November 7th

**Monday November 7th  
****5pm**

* * *

Alex stared out her bedroom window, watching people walking outside the gates. A small groups of children stared through the bars, an older child telling them something interesting about the building no doubt. "Alex?" She turned around to find Abbey standing in the doorway.

"Hi." She turned back to the window and stared up as a helicopter went by for the fifth time.

"How was school?" Abbey asked as she leant against the door.

"It was alright. I got an 'A' on that English assignment I handed in on Friday," Alex sat down on the window ledge, avoiding looking in Abbey's direction. "Miss Lyle said I had a way with words."

"Well that's fantastic," Abbey smiled to herself, thinking how proud Toby would be of his daughter. "But you don't seem so happy." She walked carefully into the room, and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Abbey if the test is negative, you'll still want me right?"

"Of course," Abbey frowned. "Where's this coming from?"

"I've been thinking about living with CJ if it turns out she is my Mom." Alex muttered, almost incoherently. She hugged her knees, and turned her head to face the First Lady. "But if you want me to stay here, then I will."

"Alex, you have to do what's right for you. No one can make this decision for you, and if CJ is your mother then I'd encourage you to live with her. If that's what you want." She motioned for Alex to join her on the bed, and the young girl did so. "I'm not going to kick you out, if you want to stay here. Jed and Zoey would probably skin me alive if I even tried." Abbey smiled as Alex laughed at her joke.

"Yeah but you'd probably kick their butts for it." Alex grinned, still slightly laughing.

"That's right, and you know why?"

"Because nobody messes with Abigail Bartlet!" They yelled together, causing Alex to start giggling again.

"I won't move in with CJ right away," Alex told Abbey seriously, as she began to calm down. "It would give us some more time to get used to the idea. She might not even want me to move in when it all comes out."

"Don't be ridiculous," Abbey pulled Alex close to her and gave her a hug. "Who wouldn't want you?"

"Abbey, I've been in an orphanage since I was six. Do you really want to go there?"

"I think we should organise a dinner," Abbey sighed, changing the subject as best she could. "I'm going to be in Canada on the weekend, and Jed's got some important thing on Saturday that we girls don't need to worry about. You should have dinner, or lunch, with CJ and Toby."

"Sounds like a good idea. Can I go ask them now, before they make any plans?"

"Sure," Abbey smiled letting her go. "They should still be in their offices." She watched as Alex ran out of the room, no doubt prepared to knock down anyone to reach her destination. For a moment she stared at the photo leaning against the lamp on the bedside table. The photo she'd sent in a letter to Alex for the weekend. For a moment she felt sorry for CJ. If the tests came back positive than CJ missed all the fun of having children, and gained a teenager about to hit her rebellious period. But at the same time she got the family she'd missed out on.

* * *

"Hey Toby." Alex grinned, her head appearing in the doorway.

"Hello," Toby looked up from his work and watched as the girl let herself into his office and sat down. "Aren't you supposed to be at school, or something?"

"Or something," Alex informed him, leaning forward and grabbing his rubber ball. "School finished at three, and I've finished my homework. Although I do have a pretty nasty assignment on the whole Thanksgiving thing, but Abbey said I should come down here and see you."

"She's not more worried about your education?"

"Doesn't seem so," Alex bounced the ball on Toby's desk. "Why do you have a ball?"

"It does fun tricks." Toby smiled to himself.

"Like what?"

"I'll show you." Toby held out his hand and Alex gave him the ball, a little confused. She shrieked as Toby pelted the ball at the window looking into Sam's office.

"What can I do for you?" Almost instantly, it seemed, Sam was in the doorway.

"No, I was just showing Alex the perks of my job." Toby shrugged, he let the ball roll out of his hand towards Alex.

"That's not something to be used as a source of amusement Toby," Sam frowned over the top of his glasses. "You could break the window, and then we'd all be in trouble." With that said, Sam disappeared back into his office.

"That was pretty neat," Alex laughed, rolling the ball across the desk between her hands. "So I was wondering…"

"Yes?" Toby had gone back to work, but he glanced up at her as she spoke again.

"Abbey's going to Canada over the weekend, for some conference, and I was wondering if you'd like to join me for dinner on Saturday night in the Residence?" She didn't look up, just continued paying with the rubber ball. "And of course, I'm inviting CJ too."

"That sounds good."

"Okay," Alex was unable to stop grinning. "How's dinner at seven?"

"Make it seven thirty and I'll see you then." Toby bargained, leaning back in his chair.

"Cool," Standing up, Alex threw the ball to Toby and headed for the door. "Well then, I better go tell CJ. See you around." She disappeared out the door, and Toby smiled to himself.


	12. Friday November 11th

**Friday November 11th**

**3:40pm**

* * *

"How was school?" Abbey asked as Alex almost ran into the kitchen.

"It was great, can we open it?" She didn't care about anything else except the letter that was sitting in front of Abbey. "Can we open it now? Do I have to wait?"

"Well it would be nice if you…"

"But it my DNA, I should be able to read it. Do I really have to wait? Can we just open it now?"

"Woah, where'd you get the energiser bunny?" CJ laughed as she walked into the kitchen.

"I'm thinking of sending her back," Abbey teased and Alex sat down quietly, although her knees bounced underneath the table while she waited. "When's Toby going to…"

"I'm here, I'm here," Toby rushed into the room and took a seat, straightening his tie.

"Geez, Toby, this isn't a meeting. You can relax." CJ flashed a sly smile.

"I'm sorry if I'm too nervous about the fact that when this day ends I may have a daughter."

"Alright, guys," Alex interrupted them, almost ready to jump through the roof. "Can we please just get this over with?" Toby and CJ gave each other an apologetic look, and Abbey took it as a sign that she could open the letter.

"Let's see," Abbey slid her fingernail under the seal. She looked up at Alex, gave her a reassuring smile and began to read through the information. With a sigh she glanced at the three faces watching her nervously. "It's a positive match, mother and daughter." There was a shocked silence. Toby sat back in his chair, glancing between CJ and Alex. He had a daughter. With a smile he glanced back at CJ, who simply smiled back with watery eyes.

"I have a family," Alex whispered, looking straight at Abbey but not really speaking to anyone. A smile slowly spread across her face, her eyes glistening. "Oh my God, I have a family!" She almost yelled, drumming her hands on the table loudly.

"Somebody's happy." Abbey laughed.

"I have to tell Zoey." In an instant she was out of her chair and had disappeared, leaving CJ and Toby a little confused.

"Okay, she just ran out of the room." CJ frowned, not sure what was going on. "Not exactly what I expect…" Before she could finish her sentence the door burst open again and Alex was suddenly clinging to her. CJ's arms automatically wrapped around her daughter, as though it was something she'd done for years. She let out a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding and allowed herself the moment to let every emotion she'd locked up, wash through her body like a wave on the beach. Her daughter was alive and in her arms. A beautiful, charming, and intelligent young woman was her daughter.

"I love you," Alex said as she stepped away, tears threatening to spill. She pressed a soft kiss against Toby's cheek, and then took another look at her parents. "Mom and Dad, I love you."

"We never stopped loving you." Toby told her quietly, noticing CJ was unable to construct a sentence but knowing what she'd want to say.

"I'm going to go tell Zoey, but I'll be back." She assured them, and for a moment she didn't move. There was a ridiculous feeling inside that if she left the room it would all be some weird dream. If she left the room she'd find she'd begun daydreaming before Abbey even opened the letter. Or worse, she was still in the hospital waiting to return to the orphanage. As she pressed her hands together she let her nails dig into her palm and decided this was, in face, reality. "Don't go anywhere." She said quickly, knowing it was a stupid thing to say but not really caring. Unable to look away she backed out of the room, and stood outside listening for a moment before running to Zoey's room.

"Oh my God, that's our baby." CJ said suddenly, her eyes connecting with Toby's. She laughed slightly, emotions clashing together inside her and confusing her brain. There was an overwhelming sense of happiness, mixed with a strong sense of fear, that seemed to take over as everything slowly became clear. She turned to see Abbey pouring them coffee. "Abbey, I'm going to need help. I don't know how to look after a teenage girl."

"You do pretty well with Hogan."

"Yeah, but I drop her back at her parents place at the end of the day." A look of pure dread was visible in her eyes and she turned to Toby for support. "What are we going to do? We're both the youngest in our respective families, you don't even like kids Toby."

"Alex is okay." Toby shrugged, smiling slightly as she reached across the table to slap his shoulder. "I like children CJ, and it's not like any of them come with a manual."

"You'll both be fine," Abbey assured them, sipping her coffee. "But there are things you need to discuss, and I have to pack for my trip, so I'll leave you two to talk until your daughter returns."

"Abbey…"

"Claudia Jean," Abbey shot back as she stood. "While it could not be scientifically proven, you knew through instinct that your daughter was alive no matter how many people told you differently. You'll both be fine, and I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks Abbey," CJ smiled, waiting silently as Abbey left the room before her attention turned back to Toby. He was holding the letter, his eyes running over every little detail. "Trying to make sure Abbey's not playing a joke on us?" She moved to sit closer to him, glancing over the words on the paper.

"No, I'm just reading over it for myself."

"It is a little hard to believe," She crossed her legs on the chair and rested her elbows on the table. "There's nothing in between, that scares me. She was three days old and now she's fourteen, that's a whole lot of growing up."

"The beauty of Alex being fourteen is that we can talk to her about that sort of thing," Toby assured her as his fingers brushed gently against her arm. "You know, you have every right to hit me over the head and say I told you so?"

"Yeah I know," CJ simply smiled, placing her hand on his. "And for once, I really don't feel like it." They held hands, almost as if it was an everyday occurrence, both silently telling the other they would be okay.

"Marry me?"

"This conversation didn't end well the other night…"

"On the contrary I think it ended very well," Toby chuckled, remembering their first night together in almost thirteen years. "All the more reason to bring it up again."

"Oh you better not be bringing anything up. I am not having sex with you on the kitchen table in the Residence."

"Then we should get our own residence."

"What if she doesn't want to play happy families?" CJ shot at him, knowing it would easily steer him away from anything sexual. "What if Alex decides she would prefer to stay here and be a Bartlet?"

"Ultimately, it's her decision CJ." Toby shrugged, leaning back in his chair and letting go of CJ's hand. She flinched a little as the warmth of his hand disappeared.

"I just don't want to lose her again."

* * *

"I don't know," Alex sat next to Zoey on the floor a flicked through the set of flash card near by. "Would you give this up if you found out you were adopted, and you knew who your real parents were?"

"Firstly I'm obviously not adopted because I have my mother's nose," Zoey smiled, cleaning up the cards spread out over her floor. "Secondly, you don't want this lifestyle Alex. It's fun now while it's still a novelty, but you lose your privacy and it becomes so stressful just to go to school. I mean, even with CJ you're going to get some of that, because she is the face of the administration. When bad things happen CJ bares the brunt of it, and then has to stand in front of the Press and act like she's okay."

"Like Rosslyn?"

"Yeah, and because you've already been front page news I'd say this won't blow over for a while. So no matter what you do you're going to be a celebrity," Zoey put her arm around the younger girl. "But you know Mom and I are always going to be here for you if you need us."

"Thanks Zoey." Alex sighed, her mind going over the two possibilities.

"And while we wouldn't suggest it, you're welcome to bunk here if you get caught skipping school or something."

"Oh as if," Alex laughed, pushing Zoey away from her playfully. "There'd be a thousand reporters calling CJ, and asking why I was seen sneaking into the Residence at midnight."

"So you're moving out?"

"Yeah I think I am."

* * *

"From a PR standpoint, this won't look good." CJ sighed, playing mindlessly with her empty coffee mug. "Ziegler and Cregg's Illegitimate Lovechild." She moved her hands across the table as if reading the words as a headline.

"That doesn't sound right," Toby muttered. "We were going to get married…"

"But that's not the point, and you know it. We come out saying we are her parents and we have to reveal the whole story," She glanced up to find him staring at her intently. "We have to live through all that again."

"The Press won't ask about…"

"No it's just thinking about it," CJ interrupted him, becoming a little frustrated. "In that one year we lost our daughter, I lost my mother, you were in that stupid car accident, and we called off our engagement. Not mention some other moments that added to the chaos."

"I should have listened to you when…"

"Toby," She stopped him, not wanting to hear what he was going to say. "As far as I'm concerned you've apologised and I've forgiven you."

"CJ…"

"I don't want to talk about it," Her tone was harsh and seemed to announce that the issue was no longer on the table. "We need to work out what we're going to do. Whatever happens we need to talk to Alex, and we need to talk to the President." As CJ spoke Alex returned and took a seat at the table.

"Hi." She said quietly, trying to hide a shy smile.

"Hey," Toby replied swiftly. "Did Zoey take the news well?"

"Yeah actually she did," Alex nodded, looking between her mother and father with awe. "She gave me some advice on decisions that need to be made, and promised me she is still going to be my sister when I need one."

"So," Leaning forward in her chair, CJ smiled. "I guess that means…"

"If you want me, I don't want to be a Bartlet." Alex declared.

"Well then," CJ was unable to hide the excitement she was feeling as she glanced at Toby. "We better work out a way to do this. Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Hey, it'll stop the kids at school calling me the First Orphan." Replied Alex, as she moved to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"They really call you that?" Toby asked curiously.

"Yeah," She replied, waving it off. "I'm surprised they were smart enough to come up with it. My shock proven by the fact that Josh tried it on me too."

"Can I kill him?" Toby asked hopefully, turning his attention to CJ.

"If only we could, Pokey."

"Pokey?" Alex giggled, but stopped when Toby glared at her.

"Don't ask," He muttered. "Okay so, you want to tell her about the thing?" Toby raised an eyebrow, hoping to get CJ to take control of the conversation.

"Oh well, we're going to have some issues that will arise when this surfaces. And it will surface," CJ began, trying to stall in hopes Toby would say it. But, it seemed, he had no intention of helping her out so she continued. "Okay, as far as we're aware no one knows the true extent of our past relationship, and so we need to look at how this would come out from a PR point of view. Having to senior advisors to the President suddenly have a fourteen year old, illegitimate, daughter and with no intention of marrying."

"No intention whatsoever?" Alex asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"Well…"

"Toby," CJ stopped him before he could even come close to popping the question again. He settled back in his seat and let her finish"The idea is that either we both come out publicly, or we keep it private and only one parent is disclosed. It's a stretch, but I have a feeling that it would work better for the President with single parent family issues."

"So we're treating this as a political issue?" Alex asked as she glanced at Toby, only to find him silently agreeing.

"No, it's just that we have to address any conflict this may cause in the Administration. It's something that we always have to think about."

"Don't worry, I completely understand." She assured her parents, but received sceptical looks. "No, I truly do because what happens in the lives of the Senior Staff can easily affect the public view on the President and his Administration. So maybe we should go with the single parent aspect." She sipped her coffee as CJ and Toby exchanged glances.

"I suppose it would make a lot more sense if…"

"Your mother was named," Toby finished for her. He noticed all eyes on him and he shrugged. "So you'd live with CJ and, I don't know, it wouldn't look that strange if I had dinner with you now and then." He motioned for CJ to help him out.

"And it's not like you guys would be separated," CJ supplied, thinking as she went. "You could come here after school, and we do spend a lot of time together."

"So it would seem perfectly natural," Alex nodded, digesting the information slowly. The silence was deafening as her parents awaited her approval. "I'm fine with it." She finally said, a little uncomfortable being the centre of attention. She looked up suddenly as the door opened and Abbey reappeared.

"How's it all going?" She asked as she approached the table cautiously, a move that was very un-like Abbey.

"We've decided that I'm going to live with CJ," Alex said slowly, not enjoying the idea of telling Abbey she was moving out. "But I think I'd like some time to adjust, before I move."

"That's fine with me if it's okay with you, Abbey."

"Of course it's fine with me," Abbey smiled, putting an arm around Alex. "And I know Jed will be glad to hear it."

"Speaking of which…" CJ glanced at Toby and they both stood. "We should probably go see The President now. Then I can leak the story, and we'll see what happens from then on."

"You're still coming to dinner tomorrow night, right?" Alex asked quickly, a little worried they may have forgotten.

"Wouldn't miss it," Toby replied. He watched as CJ moved around the table to give their daughter another hug. "Unless, of course, CJ was cooking. Then I'd reconsider."

"That's so mean." Alex protested, defending her mother's honour.

"No, I'd have to say I'd reconsider too." CJ admitted with a shrug.

* * *

**Next on The Jackal:** _CJ leaks the story, and Alex has dinner with her parents._


	13. Saturday November 12th

**A/N:** I have to say thankyou to my friend Claire, for basically threatening to lead you all to my house with blazing torches and pitchforks if I didn't update. While the prospect of being burnt at a stake does peak my interest... I chose to update. Your comments would be nice, I'm hitting a bit of a dry spell with this fic... if you haven't already noticed. Thankyou for staying with me this far, it means a lot. xxx

Oh, and I have a poll going on about this in my LiveJournal creative journal so go and check it out... if you have time... http:// community. livejournal. com / allnonsense / 17066. html Your opinion would be greatly appreciated. (just remove the spaces)

* * *

**Friday November 11th**  
**5:58pm**

Tapping her hand on her hip as she walked, CJ began to slow down as she neared her office. She couldn't believe what she was about to do. Her slow pace didn't work as well as she'd anticipated when Carol saw her. "He's in my office?" She asked quietly as her assistant joined her.

"Yeah," Carol replied with a shrug. "You asked to see him, and he's there. I'm guessing you're not looking forward to the conversation. What's going on?" She asked even quieter as they reached her office.

"I'll can't tell you, until I've told him." CJ told her sincerely.

"Okay, good luck."

"Thanks," CJ took the files Carol handed her and walked into her office, closing the door behind her. He sat silently on the couch, waiting for her to talk. Dropping the files on her desk, CJ grabbed a chair and turned it around to face him. "Thanks for coming." She said as she sat down.

"You know I'm at your beck and call…"

"Danny please," She interrupted him, not wanting to go through their usual banter. "I've got a leak for you. It's probably not something you will write about, but I need to tell you."

"Okay," He took out his notepad and pen. "Shoot."

"The First Lady, since adopting Alexandra, has been helping her try to track down her biological parents. DNA results were confirmed this afternoon." She stopped, trying to work out what she should say. Her mind was racing through so many things. Alex was on her mind and all she wanted to do was go back to the residence and hug her again.

"Are you going to leave me in suspense?" Danny asked in a joking manner.

"She's my daughter." CJ suddenly blurted out, and watched as Danny froze. "It's why I had to tell you, Danny. I didn't want you to read it in the paper tomorrow." She stopped before she said anything stupid, and waited for him to say something. He looked everywhere except in her direction, and all she could think about was her daughter.

"Okay, so is there anything more you want to tell me?" Danny asked as he wrote notes, still avoiding looking directly at her. "What happened? Identity of the father?"

"Her father's identity will not be disclosed to the public, for personal reasons. As for what happened," CJ glanced down at her hands. "She was kidnapped three days after she was born. When she was six, the woman who kidnapped her died suddenly and she was put in the care of the state. She's been in an orphanage since then. We were told she was dead, so we didn't even look for her. That's all I can give you." She was only just managing to hold back tears as she spoke.

"Coming from an anonymous White House source?"

"Whatever you usually do Danny." She sighed as she stood and walked behind her desk. From her top draw she pulled out a photo, and walked back to hand it to Danny.

"Off the record?"

"What?"

"Is she Toby's daughter?" He asked, looking at the baby in the photo.

"Off the record?" CJ asked, just to double check.

"Yeah CJ, as a friend, is Toby her father?" He asked cautiously. He didn't want to step on any toes, but he had to know.

"Yeah, and we decided it would be best if we didn't divulge that information," She bit her lip. "He and Alex are still going to spend time together. We're both trying to do the right thing by our daughter and keep the Administration as 'scandal free' as possible."

"That's good," Danny glanced back down at the photo in his hands. A small baby with a full head of hair was rugged up in a pink blanket, her eyes closed and she was sleeping peacefully. "She looks a lot like you CJ. Now, I mean. Here she looks more like Toby but…"

"But with more hair." CJ smiled, as she finished his sentence.

"Yeah," He smiled back, finally meeting her gaze. "So you and Toby…"

"Nothing," CJ said, almost too quickly. "At least not now, and with no intention…"

"It's okay if you were," Danny shrugged. "I mean you have history, you have a daughter together. You're good together."

"You've spent the past three years trying to get me into bed and now you won't even put up a fight?" She seemed a little disappointed, but at the same time she felt slightly relieved.

"Hey if that's a sure fire way to get you into bed…"

"Goodnight Danny," She laughed, opening the door and motioning for him to get out. He stole a quick kiss as he walked past her, and she couldn't help but smile. "Carol, I need to talk to my brother, he should still be at work."

"You do realise you have two brothers right?"

"I need to talk to Dan." CJ groaned, as if it should have been obvious.

**

* * *

Saturday November 12th  
****7:28pm**

"Think fast!" Alex spun around as she heard Jed's call and managed to catch the apple he'd thrown at her before it smashed into her shoulder.

"You'll have to be faster than that to outsmart me Mr President," She emitted an evil laugh and began to chop up the apple for her fruit salad. "For I am evil and all shall submit to my will."

"Oh please not us," Jed sighed dramatically, grabbing a bunch of bananas to add to the desert. "We're good people and we'll do you no harm."

"Ha! You shall eat my mind altering fruit salad, and then all will be powerless to stop me." She began to giggle, and burst into hysterics when she saw CJ and Toby walk in.

"What did we miss?"

"We've been watching some old movies, and now your daughter is the evil queen of the universe," Jed began to explain, letting Alex finish off the salad as he cleaned up. "And I wouldn't eat the fruit salad if I was you." As he spoke Toby's hand hesitated above the bowl, and he flashed CJ a look of fear.

"It's a joke," Alex assured him, as she took the bowl away. "But the fruit salad's for desert, so no touching anyway."

"Finally someone that can put Toby in his place," CJ laughed, nudging him as she spoke. "We're going to have so much fun."

"No ganging up on each other, it's not fair on the third member of the party," Jed scolded them, shaking his head with amusement. "But I'll leave you three alone. Zoey and I are going to continue the movie marathon."

"Abbey said to tell you not to stay up too late." Alex whispered in his ear as he gave her a hug.

"You're spending too much time with my wife," He replied in an equally hushed tone. He kissed her cheek and nodded to his staff. "Have a good night you three."

"Goodnight, sir." Both CJ and Toby said as he passed them.

"Dinner will be ready in, about, ten minutes," Alex began to explain as she cleaned up the mess she'd made in the kitchen. "I meant to have it on earlier, but lost track of time."

"I like your dress, you look very pretty." CJ said as Alex removed her apron.

"Thanks," She flashed a shy smile. "That's how I lost track of time." Her hands worked quickly to make a pile of food scraps before she pulled the bin towards her and scraped them in. She knew it was probably making her parents uncomfortable to be standing around while she tidied up, but there was no way Abbey was going to come home to a complete mess.

"You do realise, you can get people to clean up for you right?"

"I know," Alex looked up at Toby with a slight smile. "I know it seems odd, but I like to clean up after myself."

"I have no issues with it." CJ interrupted with a cheeky grin.

* * *

"You didn't kiss me on the basketball court," CJ argued, as she helped herself to more food. "It was definitely in Dan's bedroom, when I was seventeen and he'd gone downstairs to get us a drink." Trying to control her laughter, Alex sunk down in her chair as she watched the civilised discussion begin to deteriorate. 

"CJ the first time I kissed you, was in Dan's bedroom. The first time you kissed me," He winked at Alex. "It was on a basketball court, and you were fifteen." Toby met CJ's dark blue eyes as if he tried to convey the rest of the memory to her. In response she moved to say something but stopped.

"Oh don't leave me hanging," Alex cried out. "Come on guys, I want to know about your first kiss."

"I was fifteen, and I'd just found out my mother was dying of cancer," CJ muttered quietly. "I went to the courts, because I couldn't think of anywhere else to go. Toby turned up after Dan told him, and he was so sweet. I just kissed him." She looked up at Toby and smiled. The look they shared did not go unnoticed by their daughter. Alex smiled to herself as she stood up to get dessert. She recalled the photo in which she'd seen that same look. The photo Daniel Cregg had taken the day he'd found out his little sister was pregnant, and it captured a bond stronger than any form of love.

"What are you smiling about?" Toby asked curiously, as Alex returned to the table.

"I'm just thinking…" She hesitated, glancing between CJ and Toby. "How different everything's going to be having a family. I think it will definitely be all kinds of fun." She grinned mischievously, and served dessert.


End file.
